Consider This: Black Political Power in Oregon

Join Oregon Humanities on Wednesday, September 14, for a conversation on the state of Black political power in Oregon with Joy Alise Davis, executive director at Imagine Black; Keith Jenkins, director of Southern Oregon Black Leaders, Activists, & Community Coalition; and Marcus LeGrand, vice-chair of Bend-La Pine Schools. Journalist Bruce Poinsette will facilitate the conversation.

The event will take place in-person at the Alberta Rose Theatre, 3000 NE Alberta St., in Portland. Doors will open at 6:00 p.m, and the event will begin at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $15, and no-cost tickets are available by request.

[More Info and Purchase Tickets on Alberta Rose Theatre’s Website Here]

Joy Alise Davis is a Cincinnati native who graduated from Miami University with a bachelor of arts in political science and from Parsons School of Design with a master of arts in theories of urban practice. She has held support and leadership roles at various social justice organizations for over ten years. Davis has consulted on urban planning, urban design, and racial equity projects with government bureaus in Oregon for over five years.

Davis is the founder of the award-winning Design + Culture Lab, a research-driven, urban-social enterprise that works at the intersection between identity and place. Currently, she serves as the president and executive director of Imagine Black, where she works to help our Black community imagine the alternatives they deserve and build political participation to achieve those alternatives. Imagine Black is one of the first Black-led and Black-serving political 501c4 nonprofits in Oregon.

Keith Jenkins was the deputy field director for We Count Oregon and is currently leading community outreach and political strategy for Southern Oregon Black Leaders, Activist, & Community Coalition (SOBLACC).

Jenkins hails from East Oakland, CA, where he worked on campaigns for three years. From helping to get the first Asian American mayor elected in Oakland to ensuring that billionaires paid their fair share of taxes to fund California schools, Keith is a persuasive canvasser who brings levity and impact to campaigns.

Marcus LeGrand is the Afrocentric Program coordinator and a professor of business and human development at Central Oregon Community College. He serves on the board of Bend-La Pine Schools and volunteers for numerous organizations (Restorative Justice and Equity, The Fathers Group, and Allyship and Action). LeGrand holds a BA in marketing and advertising from the Foster Business School at the University of Washington-Seattle and an MA in counseling and psychotherapy from Rowan University. He is a Navy veteran who fought in the Persian Gulf and the father of a daughter and son.

Bruce Poinsette is a writer, educator, and community organizer whose work is primarily based in the Portland Metro Area. He hosts “The Blacktastic Adventure: A Virtual Exploration of Oregon’s Black Diaspora.” A former reporter for the Skanner News Group, his work has also appeared in the Oregonian, Street Roots, Oregon Humanities, and We Out Here Magazine, as well as projects such as the Mercatus Collective and the Urban League of Portland’s State of Black Oregon 2015. Poinsette also contracts with the University of Oregon Equity and Inclusion Office and numerous Oregon nonprofits, as well as teaching journalism and creative nonfiction with Literary Arts’ Writers in the Schools program. In addition to his professional writing work, Poinsette volunteers with Respond to Racism LO, a grassroots antiracism organization in his hometown of Lake Oswego.

[From the Oregon Humanties website]