Culture Hub PDX

In this episode we speak with leaders from LEAP (the Leadership Equity and Advocacy Project), the arm of MusicPortland dedicated to identifying and championing equity issues within Portland's music community. We discuss the history and future of making these issues heard in city government, as well as how we might hope to make music's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic an equitable one. Featuring guests Sarah Clarke, David "O.G.ONE" Jackson, and Jamie Dunphy.

Guest host Rebecca Webb interviews Julianne Johnson-Weiss about her new documentary Tipping Point, an attempt to archive the 2020 racial justice protests in Portland. Weiss speaks at length about her experience with protest as well as her ongoing work with the Old Church Concert hall, which produced the documentary.

We introduce a new segment, “Hard Questions” about race with two guest hosts Rebecca Webb and Julianne Johnson-Weiss, who began discussing race in Portland 16 years ago. They’ve seen times change profoundly since the killing of George Floyd, and wonder if public outrage at police brutality will open the door to lasting public policy change. Julianne offers white folks some tips on what they can do to help Black Lives Matter. She suggests white people take the Harvard Project Implicit test to learn about implicit attitudes they may not realize they have about race. In the second half, Dr. Rosa Colquitt, Chair of the Oregon Democratic Party Black Caucus, talks about leading the Oregon delegation to a historic nominating convention – and how youth as young as middle schoolers are getting involved in the political process and inspiring change.

In this episode, we speak with the leaders of Portland’s music industry about the future of our independent music venues. Independent venues are the fabric of Portland’s music culture, providing a powerful platform for emerging and independent artists, and connecting live acts to thousands of fans, at an affordable rate. With venues at risk for permanent closure due to the COVID-19 shut down, our guests talk about what’s needed – and what’s being done, including emergency state funding – to save them. Featuring guests Jim Brunberg, Meara McLaughlin, Lori Hughs Killen, and Malachi Graham.

In the first episode, host Veronica Bisesti speaks with non-profit leader and recent Metro candidate Cameron Whitten, licensed professional counselor and trauma worker Chanel Walker-Harris, and award-winning writer and published author S. Renee Mitchell about the social unrest and long-overdue changes in status quo brought about by the killing of George Floyd.