Back in 2020, a saga gripped Portland. Based in the Albina district, a black-indigenous family faced eviction from their home. However, they refused to leave and claimed they were the victims of systematic racism and gentrification. This began as a small dispute, but eventually gained mainstream attention and even had politicians such as AOC chiming in. For those who need reminding of the story, here’s a little context.

Due to a lack of mortgage repayments, the house was foreclosed on by the bank in 2018, and the Kinney family was forced to leave. However, in September 2020, activists began occupying the property, claiming that it was stolen from the Kinney family and that the eviction was unjust.

The activists, who called themselves the Red House Autonomous Zone (RHAZ), barricaded the area around the house and declared it an autonomous zone, similar to the one established in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood in 2020. The protesters demanded that the Kinney family be allowed to return to the property, that the house be transferred to an Indigenous land trust, and that the police be defunded.

The situation escalated in December 2020, when the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) attempted to evict the protesters from the property. The ensuing clashes between police and protesters led to a number of injuries and arrests. After a few weeks, the PPB abandoned their attempts to evict the protesters, and the RHAZ continued to occupy the property.

So, how did it end?

As of 2021, the story ends, at least publically. According to a spokesperson to the local mayor, the Kinney’s had refused to obtain a lawyer, so they do not own the house. Interestingly, this comes after over $310,000 was raised on Gofundme for the family to buy the property.

At the same time, local residents had also complained about the house and the crowd it had attracted, which mostly included homeless camps that threatened and harassed locals. In other words, it looks like this debacle is still raging on and nothing has been solved, albeit tensions have certainly lessened from their peak.

Social media responds

On social media, Portland locals had this to say: “That had to have been the lowest and most embarrassing point in my time in this city. And there were a lot of embarrassing people and opinions in that time, some of whom persist to this day.”

“Amazing that “protestors” were actually defending this shitty family. The race grift is pathetic.”

“I think somebody said elsewhere that today it’s still a squatter’s paradise. It sure looked like it when I drove by last September. (Oh wow, it really has been 2 1/2 years since this stupidity kicked off.)”