Portland State University protests just the latest in city’s history

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The protests over the Israel-Gaza conflict on the campus of Portland State University are just the latest in a long history of protests in the city.

Three of the most recent notable protests happened in 2011, 2018 and 2020.

Likely no one has forgotten the protests of 2020, as thousands gathered for about 100 consecutive nights following the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. What began as largely peaceful demonstrations to address racial unrest morphed into clashes between protesters and law enforcement on an almost daily basis.

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Kelly Kretschmer, an associate professor at Oregon State University’s School of Public Policy, said this was a civil rights protest, but that over time protesters brought “a lot of their own motivations.”

“There’s a common phrase among scholars of activism, ‘There’s no bouncer at a protest.’ So, people show up,” said Kretschmer.

Local businesses suffered millions in damage and there was substantial property damage to city parks and federal buildings in downtown Portland.

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The ICE protests in 2018 became an encampment that was hard to miss. The immigration facility on Macadam Avenue was closed for a bit as hundreds gathered for weeks to protest then-President Trump’s immigration policies.

“You will always will have a much smaller core of people who’re willing to upend their lives for days, weeks, months on end,” Kretschmer told KOIN 6 News. “The people who will actually stay in encampments are a much more dedicated, advocacy group.”

In 2011, the Occupy protests took over Chapman and Lownsdale Squares. That scene played out for more than a month and cost the City of Portland millions in police overtime and repairs to city property.

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