Donovan Scribes

The answer to the headline is “no” — but this is a great conversation about goals versus outcomes and perception. That said, don’t get it twisted, police budgets + police killings are up. www.npr.org/2026/10/20/n...

3 songs thatve been in heavy rotation for me lately God Gotta Afro - Rapsody BlackBerry Marmalade- Vince Staples 36 intro - Cole

CAN WE PLEASE GIVE THE POLICE DEPARTMENTS TO THE GRANDMOTHERS? - Junauda Petrus

After almost 15 years of having locs, and returning to the barbershop.. I forgot how LOUD yall are in the barbershop 😂

Krit’s “My Sub” series is top notch. Parts 1-6 is a song run up there with Kendrick’s “Heart” series

Press is not just going to come to you…

What’s are best academic scholar examples of an “Ether” or “Not Like Us”?

How did the Tiny Desk concert become the gold star of music performance? It was like T-Pain performed there, and shortly after it was THE SPOT

What to feel after watching You Can See Everything?

If I was a rapper, I’d have a bar about other rapper’s money being shorter than Katie Zacharia’s press run, and punch it with something like “that’s law” … feel free to steal this writing prompt 😂

The fact that news stations haven't picked this up..as opposed to say Mitch Green's tweets. This is an excellent interview. While media gets caught up talking circularly about #ProgresivesGoneWild this cuts to the core of what should be discussed www.streetroots.org/news-stories...

Shared definitions would prevent a lot of headaches.

A short list..

READ >> “The Panther “business” in question, of course, was the plight of Black people in America. When they declared “All Power to the People!” it was accompanied by a dream clenched tightly inside their raised fists that America could be forced to do right by all of its citizens.”

Some people have the “luxury” of experimenting with trying out voting Republican, “just to give the other side a shot.” That’s not a luxury I aspire to.

There is no world in which the current president could sit down with a journalist and discuss one of his favorite books, his inherent contradictions and disagreements the way Obama just did with Coates… at best maybe he could do his favorite WWE matches or something 😂

Can you name one?

The #BlackPanthers turn 60 this week.. a lot of people know their name but not what their platform, the Ten-Point Program was actually about. I wrote about it for Michael Harriot’s site @contrabandcamp.bsky.social .. read dat www.contrabandcamp.com/p/60-years-l...

Latest reflections…

What the media considers “far left” and simultaneously considers “the middle” is something that’ll make ya say “hmmm..”

If you’ve been tear-gassed by your own government, my office wants to hear from you. Chemical weapons that are banned on the battlefield have no place on the streets of Portland. Go to tinyurl.com/RestrictTearGas to see how you can help make Portlander safer & healthier. #RightToBreathe #Portland

I’ve learned a lot since becoming a columnist…here are 3 of them 🚨SPOILER ALERT: One is that some of yall don’t really be reading like you pretend 😂 #blackwriters #portland #news

This is an incredible opportunity to help improve and modernize Multnomah County for the future by shaping our local constitution, known as our charter. Applications to join the Charter Review Committee close soon on October 8th. Learn more and apply today!

The more access I get, the greater appreciation I have for “fame” or accolades without heirs. The less appreciation I have for delusions of grandeur or foul behavior, simply becaz pedestals folks happened to find themselves put on along the way

35 rotations.

Journalism is taking a hit right now. But storytelling will FOREVER matter. We gotta invest in the stories we want to be told. Clicks, follows, comments subscriptions are investments today. What we invest in today, will determine the stories of tomorrow.

A week of extraordinary confirmations.

“God Gotta Afro” 😤🔥✊🏾 @rapsody

“Read before commenting” - A Writers’ Proverb

Took a minute to weigh in on the ties between Macklemore & @councilorgreen.bsky.social ‘s latest blowback. Read here ⬇️ www.portlandmercury.com/the-black-by...

Vancouver waterfront’s not bad..

Spoke to Bruce Poinsette about my thoughts on the Mitch Green tweet “fallout” the Macklemore backlash and the Governor’s race. Tap in youtu.be/1dhXs3AoAWs?...

Being a writer, and being a parent, with little time and little brain space means every time you hit publish in a mini miracle

I love these lyric breakdowns different creators have been doing with hip-hop. Stripping the beat, and just focusing on the words shows the ways some rappers’ poetry could be in a museum

This “Alphabet Boys“ podcast by Trevor Aaronson is 🧑🏾‍🍳🤌🏾

Popular Black figures’ leftist thoughts are treated as an AFTERTHOUGHT in the mainstream, as if the center of Black political thought has been somewhere between “can’t we all just get along” and ”maybe one day you can be President”

I had avoided the details of the Nolan Wells case until I was at NABJ and heard his family speak first hand. The way this went down was corrupt. My heart goes out to that family.

Ron Desantis is joining Christine Drazan to help push her over the line for Governor in Oregon. This is supposed to be the “moderate” Republican mind you. She’s been distancing her self from Trump. The whole time, DeSantis’ whole bit was just being Trump in a different suit.

I genuinely am curious how many folks in media have read The New Jim Crow By Michelle Alexander. The opening of it, it’s a huge piece of why it’s so compelling. She, believed like so many others that the criminal legal system was fundamentally working on some level. Research showed a diff reality.

Today is the 20th anniversary of the death of James Chasse. Chasse was beaten to death by Portland Police in the Pearl District despite not posing a threat. Having broken 16 of his ribs, they took him to jail instead of a hospital at first, and only after the jail declined to admit him due to ...

How famous someone is not an indication of the quality of their art nor their political acumen. At all.

Data centers are consuming a quarter of Oregon’s power. www.opb.org/article/2026...

Endless funding for police despite low clearance rates, high disparity rates, regular infractions and a pattern of rejection to oversight is hardly ever treated as controversial by mainstream press. The “compromise” line is set at training, body cameras, and rubbing elbows with the community.

Vince Staples “Cry Baby” is easily getting the most replay in my house this year. Even got the babies dancing to it

I didn’t always vote. Bet I do now. Not filling out that little piece a paper called a ballot being treated as “resistance” is one of the greatest tricks that’s ever been pushed on us. Voting isn’t revolutionary, but it’s definitely consequential. sos.oregon.gov/elections/pa...