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Anti-Trump and anti-ICE protests have been large and, if the goal is awareness or attention, effective. Global and national opinions on Trump are low and contributing to that in any way can benefit anyone. Trump's recent actions that affected the county were the SNAP temporary delay and ICE raids for innocent people living their lives

Unfortunately, there is no major (powerful) black or indigenous or south/central American organization. This means that for a white state like Oregon, the county's diversity can't be outweighed by the lack of care for other peoples' oppression by much of the population

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Rehabilitative programs for addiction are fought for as many are put in prison for things that can easily be solved with higher access to certain medicinal drugs. Tied in with this is sometimes the legalization of some drugs for personal use

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Within the sanctuary city of Oregon, the ICE mass-deportations were meant to be halted. This has both drawn many in and caused many to distrust the local government when it isn't true. Legal battles have been fought often throughout this process to halt ICE as well as prevent national guard troops. The movement is plagued by people who emphasize a difference between illegal and legal immigrants, rather than a more radical approach of immigration processes not affecting your given rights. It can feel and appear like false allyship

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Portland (Multnomah County) Panthers signage

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Marxist-Leninist-Maoist group that supported the working class and especially black power, called Black Panther Party, had a chapter here. They pushed for and created food programs for poor and black children which was so impressive that its structure had to be copied by local government before it was forcefully shut down. The community aspect of the BPP version was lost, and the oversight by government made it less safe for black people who used the service. BPP was successful in creating hope but was violently dismantled at federal level and against individual chapters

Black Lives Matter, in its purest form, is a similar goal to the BPP but without the ML-M influence in many cases. This means it can often lack cohesion and has an easier to co-opt message but has more involved people for potential change. The only problem is that such changes would be internal and would likely not challenge US roles of global hegemony as the BPP likely aimed for

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High participation (total not percent) in pro-choice, BLM, pride, anti-Trump, and anti-ICE protests. Protection of people in their county through food providing when SNAP benefits were delayed

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The Grotto - religious Catholic building

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Christianity is by far the largest religion. If there are mosques or synagogues nearby, I've never seen them. I know Muslims in the community who have to practice at home or meet with each other to practice. Despite religion's prevalence, for Christians it seems to be mostly a way to deal with hardship in this area rather than a real identification. The US was founded with Christian-supremacy in a way, so to this day it has been conditioned to feel "normal" even if you don't believe in much of it. Social movements of the past have taken religion and used it for their purposes, notably the Klan for more efficient harm and the Civil Rights Movement for benefit. I'm not sure it would resonate here much, though it's a useful framework to invoke God or God's will

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Dress codes usually don't allow hijabs or doo rags. Not the case in public schooling as far as I've seen or known. Progress has been made for hijabs due to the growing Muslim population. Stigma isn't gone

Education outcomes for non-white people in the county are lower, and private schooling is largely white. When I was in a private school before 4th grade switch to public, I remember seeing a classroom never having more than two black students and a couple students with south/central American heritage out of maybe twenty. This is a common trend in general, but especially in the various religious schools around. When I swapped to public due to cost of private, there was a large mix of backgrounds and honestly pretty few white people. Public education is preferable, and the racial divides are worrying

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Funding towards healthcare can in a way clash with funding for environmental protection. This is mostly due to prison and police investment that is often useless or purely violent. The community is in a position for rapid change, though not from a prison angle just policing

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The gap between white and black people has gotten smaller since the CRA in the 60's integrated "races." The over-policing of black people is still a serious problem in the US. There is still distrust in healthcare practices for black individuals due to bias, including the myth of high pain tolerance

Health outcomes for black people are improving, especially with the baseline healthcare. Reaching out can feel like a real risk but is becoming safer as diversity in thought and workers increases

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Basic healthcare is given for low and no-income people in the county, though you mostly have to go out of your way to apply. It's a solid baseline.

The community has a decent Muslim population. Hijabs' religious signifier creates both community and over-policing and general stigma in so-called professional environments. Many dress codes don't allow coverings and combined with US islamophobia, or sometimes intertwined/related anti-Arab racism, it can be hard to feel at home or feel safe reaching out to get your amenities

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Taxes have risen as environmental protections are introduced. Tax burden of these additions is largely fabricated as corporate control on what is possible cause it, and these same corporations are rich enough to toss in more than the tax raise will grant the budget.

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Upholding the economy we do, based on foreign (non-indigenous) governance, and using active political force or continued occupation is oppressive to indigenous peoples. It keeps a system that requires their hoping that treaties are followed and when they inevitably aren't, there is not a group to complain to that can help. Passing off nations as their own territories then not allowing them a way to build was not a full solution

The nation has always been violently capitalist, and this area is not an exception. There are reformist elements and passable amenities like temporary food and housing programs. Labor power has been massively lessened after the Great Depression led to a strong capitalist rebuilding when the option was given. Chances to disrupt may come at each major crash...

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Even among the settler population, the economic model does not grant the most comfortable life. Despite being a settler-colony, the US's ruling class still takes vast priority over poorer settler groups. Capitalist models tend to not push for cultural diversity since it can harm the mass-production narratives when some groups are not interested in certain product. This meant that smaller businesses that fit niches have popped up and been accepted, to keep populations around. Sometimes this can be allowed for the ability to have workers to pay less

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Various environmental protections have been passed up, usually at cost of the community's struggling income and especially at cost of those without homes' wellbeing. Part of the protections were assertions that homeless people were a major issue that need to be pushed out of areas for the environment to thrive. Indigenous methods of protection have not been adopted. Air and water quality are largely focused, while preservation of wildlife is usually a sign of some etiquette and creation of public (sometimes staffed) park areas.

There is forestry left alone and the air/water protections are, to be fair, pretty comprehensive

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Oregon and the US have deeply racist histories and lingering values of white supremacy. Housing, healthcare, education, work are among the gaps that were created in a post-Jim Crow era world. Discrimination on work and home ownership don't persist, at least not to the same extent or with explicit legal protection, but the effects are there in a few ways. They lingered in that each new generation has lived in a similar condition to the one before, which is less extravagant than white peoples, and economic hierarchies push black Americans into further inequality than poor people of most other groups.

Indigenous peoples face very similar oppressions alongside the constant effects of their land being occupied by a colonial power. Acknowledgment of indigenous nations is a step that appears helpful before taking into account the dependency on the host governance of the US and the ignorance of all treaties. Internal inequality is strong and mostly affects black and indigenous peoples with echoes of colonial and segregationist/slavery policy of the past being done with lesser extent and visibility.

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The area of Multnomah I'm in is low income, but the area as a whole is closer to lower-middle or Middle income. In Portland, it's among the richest counties on average. Nearby are very expensive houses that are mismatched by the projects that low-income people live. Measures of wealth are skewed by the use of medians as diverse economic situations are thrown together. There are many in the county who are without a house. Growth of the local economy has led to a crisis that isn't being addressed fully.

This crisis is widespread, though it largely affects the black community. Despite diversity, cultural centers are being replaced by corporate grocers, and cost of living goes up as more white people move around, and the city adjusts for the more homogenous county. Even with a high (for Oregon) black and south/central American population, the presence of white people spread around creates less livable spaces for internally oppressed groups

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Indigenous cultures, such as the one the county is named after, still struggle with visibility to be able to make change. After their mass-death by diseases like malaria and smallpox, the remaining split into other nearby indigenous groups. An added cultural challenge that comes with that is formerly belonging to a group with unclear status. Even among indigenous groups they are unclear which they would belong to and which parts of their culture are as closer to their heritage as others

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With growing non-white population, many ethnic and religious groups have been trying to set up spaces where they have room to express themselves and settle into their new home

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While not on the coast, the county is still part of a coastal state. Oregon is heavily affected by temperature swings of climate change. The small indigenous population also loses some of its rightful home, partially to environmental policies they do not get priority opinion on

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The broader BLM (Black Lives Matter) movement had a strong push in Portland after efforts from our comparatively large black community. Thousands of allies came along to many of the downtown protests as black community organizers led efforts to be heard and for radical change to come

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black lives matter portland multnomah county

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I have lived in this county for my whole life, only leaving for trips to the coast or other US states. Many of the people I grew up with still live here. Being such a large group, it is hard to generalize one whole or one connection we all share

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By far the highest black population in Oregon by percent at ~6% and highest total at ~60,000. Decently large "hispanic" population at ~13%. Unfortunately, the indigenous population is now hovering at just 2% and that is a combination of groups rather than just Multnomah (worldpopulationreview). It is majority white, as is Oregon and the US as a whole.

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Multnomah County, Oregon Population 2025

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Discover population, economy, health, and more with the most comprehensive global statistics at your fingertips.

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Smallest of Oregon's counties but most populous. Founded in 1854 and named after the indigenous community that were killed by diseases introduced after colonization in the area (multco.us). Now home to the cities of Fairview, Gresham, Maywood Park, Portland, Troutdale, and Wood Village.

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Information about the population, geography, cities, employees and functions of Multnomah County.