Donna Hayes

Donna Hayes’ grandson, Quanice Hayes, was killed by Portland Police this past February. He would have been eighteen years old tomorrow. Tonight his family was asked to speak at a public event organized by Enlace, called “Night Out for Safety and Liberation,” and Donna made a powerful speech. She gave me a copy of it so I could post part of it here:

“I don’t feel safe. I didn’t feel safe growing up. I haven’t felt safe for more than fifty years. The police have never been my friends. I came to Portland in 1998 with my two youngest sons. Slowly over time all my children came; my mother, my sister and brother and their children came too, from my urging and description of this beautiful city. Beauty or not, I don’t feel safe here. 

“I received the talk from my mother and grandmother: what to do when you are approached by the police. I gave the talk to my children and grandchildren. But the talk didn’t save Quanice, and I could read you a long list of names of people who weren’t saved by the talk. Justine Diamond was trying to help someone. Jack Roberson needed an ambulance. Charleena Lyles reported a burglary. Christopher Kalonji called 911 himself. They were all murdered by the police. Terrell Johnson was running from the police when they killed him. Aiyana Jones was seven years old when the police murdered her.

“How can I feel safe when the people sworn to protect me can kill me, and our cities, states, and country will not hold them accountable?  

“Ours is not a fight against a few rogue cops, but against a system that spawns, enables, and legitimizes rogue behavior. If people can organize to make a law to smoke weed, then people can organize to create laws to stop police brutality. There is no way to be safe until we work together as comrades to stop police brutality.”


The Extra photo is an altar erected, in the words of the event organizers, for a few of “those who are not with us due to transphobic, racist and xenophobic physical violence, police brutality, and the violence of bars and borders.”