About 200 students protested outside of Ockley Green Middle School in North Portland, Apr. 2 2018, in support of suspended teacher, Chris Riser.
Rob Manning / OPB
Portland Public Schools put Ockley Green Middle School teacher Chris Riser on leave for leading an unauthorized protest, where students held a “die-in” and blocked a busy intersection.
In reply, about 200 students demonstrated against PPS's decision to suspend the teacher for the February Black Lives Matter walkout.
"There were no steps taken to make sure that students had food, water or individual medical needs taken care of," read a statement from Ockley Green Principal Paula McCullough, who defended the decision to suspend Riser.
"Students were subjected to the risk of severe harm and this incident was a serious breach of our safety policies. The school did not authorize this activity and Portland Police were called to respond and assist as the event was occurring."
Ockley Green Middle School student Aniyah Johnson (tallest, center) leads a protest over the suspension of teacher Chris Riser over his role in an unauthorized Black Lives Matter school walkout.
Rob Manning / OPB
But students and a number of parents disagreed with the district's decision to suspend Riser indefinitely. On the first school day after Riser’s suspension, students like seventh-grader Majiah Washington voiced their frustration.
“They don’t want people to be empowered — they just really don’t," Washington said, standing on a wall at North Portland's Peninsula Park. "They tried to take him out. They tried to take away the best teacher, literally."
Washington said Riser is unique among the Ockley Green staff because "no other teacher is talking about the problems Mr. Riser is talking about."
Students later returned to Ockley Green and banged on the school doors. As other students watched through the windows from inside, protesting students shouted, “Ockley wake up.”
Sometimes, it was students like Washington leading the chant, sometimes it was Portland activist Teressa Raiford, who was instrumental in the Black Lives Matter walkout at Ockley Green on Feb. 9.
Raiford is a community activist who has said she plans to run for Portland mayor in 2020.
About 200 Ockley Green students marched to Peninsula Park, Apr. 2 2018, to protest the suspension of teacher Chris Riser.
Rob Manning / OPB
A number of parents have voiced their discomfort with Riser's actions, and the lack of notification of the Black Lives Matter walkout that led to his suspension. Others are supporting Riser in spite of the walkout coming as a surprise.
Lori Eberly said she didn't know her seventh-grade daughter was walking out of Ockley Green until her phone rang.
"My daughter called me from Jefferson High School and said, 'Mom, we're on a walkout,' and was really enthusiastic," Eberly said. "I told her to have fun."
Opponents of a Portland Public Schools' decision to suspend teacher Chris Riser posted protest signs after an Apr. 2 2018 demonstration.
Rob Manning / OPB
Eberly participated in the Riser support protest Monday, holding up a banner that read #WithRiser.
Other parents have been more supportive of some punishment for Riser.
As the protest approached its third hour, administrators agreed to meet with a group of 13 students, including at least seven who had participated in the walkout. PPS spokesman Dave Northfield said they wanted to listen to the students' concerns.
According to a parent who attended part of the meeting, students were united in calling for Riser's reinstatement, but they were not sure if Riser should receive some kind of punishment.
The district isn’t saying whether Riser will return, and has declined to say whether he is being paid while on leave.
