Several days after George Floyd was killed, Cameron Whitten ’16 sent out a Facebook post, eager to connect individuals with resources to Black Portlanders in need.
“We had just survived a long, painful week after a year that challenged us all to the core with multiple Black deaths at the hands of police while facing a pandemic,” Whitten recalled. “A huge number of white Portlanders reached out to make sure I was OK, and I knew a lot of my Black friends did not have the same support.”
Whitten—who uses all gender pronouns—originally expected to raise $5,000 over two days to give Black friends financial assistance for rent, utility bills, food and medicine. The first day turned into an 11-hour Facebook marathon Whitten describes as a “community benefit stock brokerage exchange,” with more than $11,000 coming in. Deciding to move the effort to an online fundraising platform, Whitten co-founded the Black Resilience Fund (blackresiliencefund.com) with friend Salomé Chimuku.
“Every moment is an opportunity to take care of our most vulnerable Portlanders,” Whitten said. “Even when we don’t think we can solve all the issues, we can do something positive. So we got to work.”
The fund far exceeded Whitten’s highest aspirational goals. In less than two months, it raised more than $1.2 million with about 13,000 individual donations. There were enough funds to provide assistance to 4,000 Black people across the Portland Metropolitan area. (By press time, the total had passed $1.9 millon.)
Fighting social injustice through nonprofit leadership, activism and political organizing has been a defining thread throughout the past decade of Whitten’s life. They were involved in Occupy Portland, Know Your City and Portland’s Resistance. Whitten currently serves on the board of directors for local nonprofits including REACH Community Development, Venture Portland and Pioneer Courthouse Square.
In 2018, Whitten founded the nonprofit organization Brown Hope to focus on trauma-informed activism and became the executive director at Q Center. They resigned from Q Center earlier this year to run for Metro Council, but COVID-19 impeded Whitten’s grassroots political campaign. George Floyd’s death took place just two weeks after the election, and the Black Resilience Fund was launched soon thereafter.
Whitten’s passion for justice is fueled by their experiences as a teen. After arriving in Portland at the age of 18, Whitten faced homelessness and stayed in a youth shelter where they received support and encouragement. “Now my goal is to give back to the same community that was there when I needed it the most,” Whitten said.
To gain skills for public advocacy, Whitten earned a bachelor’s degree in economics at Portland State and is now pursuing an MBA at Willamette University.
While Whitten’s focus is systemic change, they’ve been impressed by the community’s outpouring of support for individual Black lives. “What started out as a one-time emergency fund has grown exponentially,” Whitten said. “We’ve received support from citizens, corporations, celebrities, community leaders and both Oregon U.S. senators.”
As an incoming program of Brown Hope, the Black Resilience Fund is transitioning to a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in order to position the fund for lasting impact. The fund “fits perfectly within Brown Hope’s model of programs that foster healing from the impacts of racism and address inequities,” Whitten said.
To help ease isolation, every applicant is interviewed by one Black Portlander and given the assistance funding in person by another. The idea is to create new connections and support systems. “Our goal is to build community, and I’m so proud of the way Portland has shown up for Black lives,” Whitten said. “Thanks to hundreds of new relationships, I know we have the energy to advance this work for the long term.”
Photo by So-Min Kang