Appearing at pivotal civil rights moments in history is not unusual for United States federal agents. In 1957, they escorted nine Black students to their high school in Little Rock after Arkansas’ governor attempted to use the state’s National Guard to keep them out of previously-segregated schools. Agents were present in 1965 when civil rights protestors marched from Selma to Montgomery, and also during the 1992 Los Angeles riots, brought on by the beating of a Black man, Rodney King, at the hands of four policemen. Most recently, tactical agents deployed by the Department of Homeland Security were sent to Portland, Oregon, in response to ongoing protests following the death of George Floyd and several other Black people at the hands of police. 

Elias Selva ’23, along with two other Stanford students who have been granted anonymity for their safety and privacy, all participated in the Portland protests. All of them felt the presence of federal agents in Portland was unnecessary. Selva even said the law enforcement presence made the protests even rowdier. 

The New York Times reported that federal agents deployed in Portland were from Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Transportation Security Administration, the Coast Guard and the Federal Protective Service. A Homeland Security press release issued on Aug. 5 stated that Oregon State Police and the Portland Police Bureau were also present at the protests. 

“If the federal troops paid no attention to us and let us chant, then there would be no violence at all,” Selva said.  He was visiting Portland at the time of protests and quickly got involved. He is, however, a California resident.

According to an anonymous protestor, protests started peacefully but began to become violent at night, usually after 11 p.m. Screaming from protestors incited flashbangs from federal agents, which led to protestors setting off fireworks. Eventually, he said, there was a back-and-forth sequence, consisting of flashbangs, fireworks, tear-gassing and screaming.

One night, the protestor and his friends were volunteering with Riot Ribs, a pop-up vendor that served food to protesters, when they were suddenly tear-gassed. 

“We had our goggles and masks on already, so we were good, but somehow it still got in my eyes and in my mouth,” he said. 

The group was able to run from the scene and splash water in their eyes to mitigate the effects of the gas. After recovering, they returned to continue volunteering with Riot Ribs.

The protestors’ initial goals included fighting against racial injustices and bringing awareness to the importance of protecting Black lives. According to Selva, the arrival of federal agents created a new purpose, causing some protesters to subconsciously shift their focus. 

“It felt like the rhetoric was changing from anti-systemic racism and pro-Black Lives Matter to, ‘Get these federal troops out of my city,’” Selva said. He believes Portland residents’ pride in their city ultimately distracted from the original purpose of the protests. 

Like most of America, Oregon has an extensive history with racism. During the early 1920s, one of America’s largest Ku Klux Klan organizations was formed in the state, consisting of more than 30,000 members in 50 different chapters throughout Oregon. 

The Washington Post reported that Oregon was the only state to enter the union as a “whites-only” state and legally remained one until 1922. Portland is still a very white city, with 2019 census data reporting that 77.1% of its population is white. According to a New York Times article, Oregon’s racist and exclusive past, combined with their current racial demographics, caused some to be surprised that Portland has become a center of Black Lives Matter protests. 

Selva, however, is not surprised. Upon arriving in Portland, he remembered feeling embraced by the city’s sense of support and community-oriented action. 

“Because of that community culture, it makes me understand why this type of movement specifically happened in Portland,” Selva said. “It shows that the people of Portland will always have each other’s back, they will always work together. ” 

Another protestor, a lifelong resident of Portland, appreciates the turnout at protests but also hopes to see white protestors become more conscious of their role in the movement. She has observed white protestors demonstrating for hours and sometimes experiencing violence at the hands of police.

“Obviously, that’s bad,” she said, but she also thinks white protesters should remember “the police would beat up a Black person for just walking down the street.” 

The Portland protests garnered increased media attention after stories circulated about federal agents apprehending protesters and forcing them into unmarked vans. The protester, an active organizer in Portland, has been concerned for her family’s safety. 

“I think a lot of people that have been active in Portland have been feeling more unsafe lately with fed and police presence,” she said.

Both her and Selva’s experience protesting altered their perspective on their academic futures. One protestor now plans on majoring (or minoring) in Native American Studies and political science, with a concentration in law and justice. She is interested in becoming a lawyer. 

“My approach before was [to] attack the system from within,” she said. However, after witnessing, organizing and partaking in recent social justice events in Portland, she is no longer sure if this method can work. But, as of now, she still plans on going to law school because, as she said, “You do have to know your enemy to fight it.”

Selva is majoring in economics and hopes to enter academia. The protests, along with the entire Black Lives Matter movement, have sparked his interest in studying less-common economic models.  

“This whole movement has pushed me towards looking into mutual aid cooperativism and these new types of economic models that people haven’t really studied,” Selva said.

Though federal agents are withdrawing from Portland, one protestor does not believe change has truly happened. Until it does, she encourages protestors, activists and others to stay engaged. 

“All that has happened during the movement in Portland is that the feds came and then they left,” she said. “That’s not really a victory, because now we’re back to square one.” 

Contact Zadie Winthrop at zadiewinthrop ‘at’ gmail.com and Zoya Chughtai at 22zchughtai ‘at’ castilleja.org.