# Instead Of 40 Acres And A Mule, Get $10 And A Drink: Reparations Happy Hour Is A Thing Now



## jdvzmommy (May 24, 2018)

*There’s a Reparations Happy Hour in Oregon Where Black Attendees Get Cash From White Donors*



Breanna Edwards
Yesterday 12:51pm
Filed to: REPARATIONS HAPPY HOUR
9.5K
466





Photo: iStock
Let’s get drinks, but make it reparations.

To be fair, I’m not certain what that means, but apparently Portland, Ore., is now the place to go if you want to take part in a Reparations Happy Hour, where black attendees get $10 cash, mainly from white donors.





According to Raw Story, the event, which happened for the first time Tuesday night, was thought up by longtime social justice organizer Cameron Whitten and organized through his new group Brown Hope.

“It’s exactly what it sounds like,” Whitten said, according to the site. “What I want to do is end the cycle of exploitation. For black, brown, indigenous people, you face so many barriers, whether it’s tokenization or straight-up poverty.”

Whitten says that several white people donated and signed up to be regular, monthly donors. He’s also gotten donations from black people, too.

“I felt so good. That was my best part of the night, just giving out that money,” he added. “I feel like Oprah—like, ****, I’m Portland’s Oprah right now. And I want to give more than $10.”

As Raw Story notes, Whitten is known throughout Portland politics. He held a 55-day hunger strike at City Hall over the city’s housing crisis and then exposed the racism within a city housing-advocacy group. In one particularly shocking incident, white activists in the group were caught mocking an indigenous person’s request not to sing “This Land Is Your Land” and locked the individual out of the room and sang the song loudly. The white woman at the head of the housing group ended up resigning because of Whitten’s work.

Whitten was recently fired from the city’s Office of Neighborhood Involvement, an act that he says is a result of racism and for which he is seeking to file a lawsuit, according to Raw Story.

“In Portland in general, when they say ‘people of color,’ they mean light-skin, white-passing Asian and Latino,” he said. “Very often we don’t see black people in charge of things. And we see a lot of anti-blackness.”

“This is a hostile environment,” he added, noting that was why many black friends of his have left the city. “They don’t die physically, but they leave Portland because they’re not getting what they need to nourish their spirit here.”

It is through events like the happy hour that Whitten hopes black and brown people can start to feel more comfortable in the city.


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## onyxdreams (May 24, 2018)

IMO this is so disrespectful! Even when they think they understand slavery, they don't.


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## nyeredzi (May 24, 2018)

I don’t know about instead, but in addition to ...


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## LdyKamz (May 24, 2018)

I don't think I like it. Maybe I don't understand. So I go to a bar during happy hour and what? White people just give me money until happy hour is over? Do all the black people in the bar get it? Is it a raffle? So many questions. I think I would be so uncomfortable. Gimme my lump sum, my land (and don't forget my mule!) and let me go on somewhere away from the rest of y'all.


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## Black Ambrosia (May 24, 2018)

This makes me feel dirty like I sold out my ancestors for Hennessy or ciroc.


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## Ganjababy (May 24, 2018)

This is a mockery of my ancestors suffering.


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## LaughingOctopus (May 24, 2018)

> “I felt so good. That was my best part of the night, just giving out that money,” he added. “I feel like Oprah—like, ****, I’m Portland’s Oprah right now. And I want to give more than $10.”



This is the smug response that makes me hate all of this.


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## Stormy (May 24, 2018)

Yeah, I didn’t like it when I read the title. I thought no there must be more to it so I’ll read it. Nope, still don’t like it. This is offensive. Just all kinds of wrong. A  “drink” really? $10 WTH? So now have pity on us? I don’t want pity!


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## Gin&Tonic (May 24, 2018)

Black folks can never tell when they are being insulted.


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## Lady S (May 24, 2018)

Interesting.   I, personally, wouldn't have used the term "reparations"  On the one hand, it encourages performative allyship by white people in Portland.  You know, donate money to help soothe that white guilt without actually doing anything to deal with racism at the institutional level.   On the other hand. . . .


jdvzmommy said:


> “In Portland in general, when they say ‘people of color,’ they mean light-skin, white-passing Asian and Latino,” he said. “Very often we don’t see black people in charge of things. And we see a lot of anti-blackness.”
> 
> “This is a hostile environment,” he added, noting that was why many black friends of his have left the city. “They don’t die physically, but they leave Portland because they’re not getting what they need to nourish their spirit here.”
> 
> It is through events like the happy hour that Whitten hopes black and brown people can start to feel more comfortable in the city.


He's basically set up a networking event for Black and Brown people on the dime of white people.  Could be the groundwork for organizing something bigger.  Or at least an attempt to establish a support system in what seems to be a racist city.  Very interesting.


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## LdyKamz (May 24, 2018)

Oh so wait it's free drinks and 10 bucks for every black person between like 5 and 7 Mon-Friday? Lol Smh And he is so proud. Talking about he's Oprah because he giving out free drinks and $10. How exactly is this considered reparations? I guess he thought this was better than just putting a sign outside that says "blacks drink free" White people are a trip man.


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## Lady S (May 24, 2018)

If anyone is interested, here's the FAQ about the Reparations Happy Hour from his organization Brown Hope.  https://www.brownhope.org/reparations-faq/  Copy & Pasted for your reading pleasure.  
*
Frequently Asked 'Questions'*
The Brown Hope Reparations Happy Hour event has recently received media attention from outlets such as Raw Story, the Root, Atlanta Black Star, the New York Times, the Oregonian, and more. The public visibility of our program has sparked a number of questions and comments about our program. We have listed answers to seven types of feedback we've received over the last few days. If you need additional clarification about our work, please email [email protected]

*— Is this a joke?*

It’s real. It is a happy hour. It is reparations.

*— This is reverse racism — I can’t believe you’re excluding white people.*

White people are included in this event. They are invited to contribute financially and to take positive action to support community building between Black, Brown, and Indigenous people.

Living in Portland, the whitest major city in the United States, it is impossible to go through a day without interacting with whiteness. Hosting an event that takes place for two hours a month does not separate us from white people. Black, Brown, and Indigenous people face racism daily in society and in our relationships. Reparations Happy Hour aims to create a space of healing, a place for us to feel pain with others who feel our pain. The perpetrators of our pain are not invited.

It’s like a support group — you wouldn’t host an Alcoholic’s Anonymous group with a Tequila manufacturer in the room.

*— Are white people going to be off the hook for slavery because they gave $10?*

HELL NO. Brown Hope is elevating the conversation about Reparations, because action is sorely needed on a national and global level.

We are taking initiative. While we wait for Congress to do something, we call on folks to imagine what reparations in their own communities could look like.

*— Calling it a Happy Hour diminishes the gravity and seriousness of reparations.*

Reparations is a serious issue and should not be taken lightly. We believe we can hold space for the importance of Reparations, while at the same time raising the importance of of Happy Hours and similar social gatherings for communities of color.

Historically, Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities have been most prosperous when they built community: close, caring, and courageous communities that could come together and provide solutions. Living in the whitest major city in the United States, our communities have been displaced and divided. Events like the Reparations Happy Hour are crucial to building community and continuing our journey to prosperity.

*— If this event is to benefit Black, Brown, and Indigenous people, why are you patronizing white-owned businesses?*

We specifically reach out to businesses in gentrified parts of town, because we have an expectation that they recognize how they have benefited from racism, and to take action. In no way to we endorse the displacement of poor and nonwhite communities.

By hosting our Reparations Happy Hour event at a gentrified business, it provides an avenue for Black, Brown, and Indigenous people to be compensated for their pain and suffering. This event empowers us to elevate our presence in spaces we once called home.

*— Are Asian people invited to the event?*

Yes.

Racism and colorism have a complex historical relationship. Some communities who identify as “brown” have benefitted from light skin privilege, and as a racial demographic, are better off than the average Black family. However, Asian Americans have been the targets of racial exclusion, repression and exploitation throughout US history. They deserve reparations, too.

*— Happy Hours are unwelcoming to sober people.*

We hear you. The organizer of this event has been sober for 27 years. While the Happy Hour isn’t about promoting alcohol consumption, we acknowledge that the name comes off that way. That’s why we’re calling future events Reparations Power Hour.


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## Lady S (May 24, 2018)

LdyKamz said:


> Oh so wait it's free drinks and 10 bucks for every black person between like 5 and 7 Mon-Friday? Lol Smh And he is so proud. Talking about he's Oprah because he giving out free drinks and $10. How exactly is this considered reparations? I guess he thought this was better than just putting a sign outside that says "blacks drink free" White people are a trip man.


He's Black.


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## LdyKamz (May 24, 2018)

Lady S said:


> He's Black.


 I am so confused. 

Eta: I wrote a much longer response detailing what I think of him but let me just go.


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## DeRay (May 24, 2018)

I saw this earlier..they would have to do $10 in Oregon..that wouldn't cover parking here much less a drink..


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## Lady S (May 25, 2018)

LdyKamz said:


> I am so confused.
> 
> Eta: I wrote a much longer response detailing what I think of him but let me just go.


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## newme2003 (May 25, 2018)

Just give us what you owe us and save this bs for another group.  What's the problem?


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## PretteePlease (May 30, 2018)

*Do Not Like*


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## nysister (May 30, 2018)

I know this was created by some "new Black" but it still mocks pain and I find it repulsive.


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## FemmeCreole (May 30, 2018)

Things that make me want to cuss.


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## BeautyPoint (May 30, 2018)

I thought this was from The Onion.  This is insulting.


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