BLACKOUT: A 5 YEAR RETROSPECTIVE OF PORTLAND’S RACIAL JUSTICE PROTESTS
5 years after Portland’s 100+ days of protests were ignited by the murder of George Floyd, what do Black Portlanders have to say about the largest global uprisings for Black lives in history?
Donovan Scribes explores this question, through curating 12 distinct essays and interviews with Black Portlanders published by one of the city’s largest papers the Portland Mercury in May 2025 dubbed BlackOut: a 5 Year Retrospective of Portland’s Racial Justice Protests.
Distributed in 40,000 copies — coupled takeover of the Mercury’s front page online — this glossy commemorative magazine features essays on Black mentorship, investment, direct action, police abolition, government, and considerations for our collective future.
The project has been described as “primary source material for people around the world to learn about this important crossroads of local and national Black history” by the 1803 Fund, the country’s largest Black woman-owned investment firm.
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WHAT PEOPLE SAY
“Pretty uncanny how you captured Martin Luther King’s voice in your writing. I don’t know how you did that part! Very creative approach to highlighting Portland’s existing ills and struggles.” - Tim Wise, acclaimed author/activist
“My favorite piece of writing of all time” - Winta Yohannes, Albina Vision Trust executive director
“Donovan does a great job at driving the conversation,” Mac Smiff, activist & founder of We Out Here Magazine
Film Production
Executive Producer: A young Black filmmaker from America’s whitest city, Portland, embarks on a journey through the Blackest cities in the U.S., exploring the evolving meaning of home, the roots of Black migration, and the ever-shifting future of Black identity in America.