NPR reporting on Oregon theater death threats prompt local and national response

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Death threats not new
Garrett, though the most prominent, isn't the first person in OSF's long history to suffer such attacks in a state founded on exclusion laws that kept Black people out for decades. In 2016, for example, actress Christiana Clark posted a video on Facebook after a passing cyclist reportedly said to her: "It's still an Oregon law. I could kill a Black person and be out of jail in a day and a half. Look it up. The KKK is alive and well here."

Yet Garrett might be the only theater director in the country at this point with a private security detail. "There just haven't been a lot of Black women in positions of leadership at larger, predominantly-white organizations that have the kind of resources that OSF does," said Theatre Communications Group spokesperson Corinna Schulenberg.

Hana Sharif, one of the very few other Black women artistic directors of major theater companies in the U.S. and a friend of Garrett's, said she too has experienced her fair share of verbal abuse since coming on board to lead the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis a few years ago. But Sharif said she cannot imagine receiving threats to her physical safety in St. Louis, a much more racially-diverse city, where around half of the population is Black. "For me, it's not the same as Nataki," Sharif said. "No one's outside of my house. No one's stalking me as I take my kid to school."

Sharif is proud of Garrett for keeping on with her work – and for speaking up about the threats to her safety.

"The police are now forced to reckon with this threat publicly. The mayor is now forced to reckon with this publicly," Sharif said. "It is now part of the record and part of the history, and no one will be able to eradicate or erase that, which feels really important."

For her part, Garrett hopes the media attention from NPR and snowballing response from the wider community will lead to positive change.

"I am a part of a continuum, a practice that will create thriving, safe spaces for theater artists for generations to come," she said. "That is my goal and I need people to follow me down this path."

It's a shame!

voter suppression
election strategy

voter suppression, in U.S. history and politics, any legal or extralegal measure or strategy whose purpose or practical effect is to reduce voting, or registering to vote, by members of a targeted racial group, political party, or religious community. The overwhelming majority of victims of voter suppression in the United States have been African Americans.

SOURCE : https://www.britannica.com/topic/voter-suppression



Block the Vote: How Politicians are Trying to Block Voters from the Ballot Box

SOURCE : https://www.aclu.org/news/civil-liberties/block-the-vote-voter-suppression-in-2020/



RACE IN AMERICA

WHAT IS VOTER SUPPRESSION? TACTICS USED AGAINST COMMUNITIES OF COLOR THROUGHOUT HISTORY, IN 2020

SOURCE : https://abc7news.com/amp/voter-suppression-what-is-intimidation-voting/7453440/


Why It Matters

Voter suppression is any attempt to prevent or discourage certain Americans from registering to vote or casting their ballot. These measures often target specific groups based on race, ethnicity, political affiliation, age, or other aspects of voters’ identities. The most widely used forms of voter suppression include discriminatory voter ID and proof-of-citizenship restrictions, reduced polling place hours in communities of color, the elimination of early voting opportunities, and illegal purges of voters from the rolls.  

{{Historically, voter suppression has overwhelmingly targeted Black Americans. After the Civil War, Black men were able to participate in elections once the 15th Amendment to the US Constitution was adopted in 1870, which states:  

“The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States, or by any State, on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” }}