Moe Bowstern, Mic Crenshaw & Erin Yanke in Conversation with Jonathan Mozzochi and China
At a quiet intersection just west of Laurelhurst Park, Ethiopian immigrant Mulugeta Seraw was murdered by racist skinheads in 1988. You might have never heard about it, but the event shocked the city—groups quickly organized against white nationalist and neo-Nazi violence across the Pacific Northwest. It Did Happen Here tells the story, with interviews featuring immigrants, civil rights activists, militant youth, and queer organizers involved in the Portland chapters of Anti-Racist Action, Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice, and the Coalition for Human Dignity. The book offers unique insight into strategies that worked—brawls at punk shows, behind-the-scenes intelligence gathering, and more—to drive racism out of Portland. Obviously, the fight is far from over, but It Did Happen Here offers some suggestions for continued activism, too. Co-authors Moe Bowstern, Mic Crenshaw, and Erin Yanke will come together in conversation alongside Jonathan Mozzochi, founding member of the Portland-based Coalition for Human Dignity, and China, an activist, organizer, doula, and educator.
by Lindsay Costello