Another great program created by Renee Mitchell and proposed by City Councilwoman Hardesty. Hardesty approached the doctorial student and journalist about creating the program for Black youth. This was in response to 2020 protests calling for racial justice and police accountability. In a bold move typical of Portland government, the City Council approved divesting $1 million from the Police Bureau’s school resource officer program to fund the leadership program.
The ordinance was passed last week. It authorizes Hardesty to execute grant agreements for $753,250 with the Black United Fund of Oregon and $196,750 with the Oregon Community Foundation.
The Black youth leadership program has a focus to close racial wealth and inequality gaps in Portland. Racist practices are identified as a culprit in both focused areas. Those practices are residential segregation and a lack of financial investment in historically Black neighborhoods and communities. Portland mayor Ted Wheeler, the city’s police commissioner, said that the leadership program had his “full support.”
The City Council voted last Wednesday to approve the program. Hardesty proposed the idea almost two years ago. The program has kicked off already with the signing of a two-year lease at the former Albina Arts Center in Northeast Portland; now called the Soul Restoration Center.
Close to $15 million was divested from the police bureau which included units that work in schools and patrols the regional public transit system. A majority of the funds will pay for programming while $200,000 will act as seed funding for youth-designed grants. Participants in the program will be taught how to pitch grant ideas before a community advisory committee.
Hardesty’s office approached Mitchell to develop the program based on Mitchell’s doctoral research at the University of Oregon. In the program Black Portlanders younger than 25 will be able to participate in professional development opportunities and career training in fields like business, policymaking, philanthropy and government.
