Cameron Whitten

Cameron Whitten
Whitten in 2013
Personal details
Born (1991-04-08) April 8, 1991
Sterling, Virginia
Political party Independent
Residence Portland, Oregon
Occupation Activist
Website cameronwhittenforunity.com

Cameron Whitten (born April 8, 1991) is an Occupy Portland organizer, community activist[1][2] and hunger striker[3] who ran for mayor of Portland, Oregon, in 2012.

Early life and education

Whitten grew up in Sterling, Virginia, outside Washington, D.C., and attended Portland Community College.[4]

Occupy Portland

A Portland resident for three years, Cameron Whitten, 20, joined the Occupy Portland movement from the start, on October 6th. He camped in Lownsdale and Chapman squares for the 38 days of the occupation.[5]

Whitten was arrested four times.[6] He helped plan the Jamison Square occupation in October, and was arrested when police cleared it out. He was arrested during some occupiers' last stand in Chapman Square. And then he was arrested during a theatrical occupation of tiny Mill Ends Park downtown. He also has another arrest in January 2012 for actions during an Occupy the Courts rally.[7]

Mayoralty candidate

In 2012, Whitten ran for mayor of Portland.[8] [9][10]

Although among the favorites in The Oregonian "most intriguing political figure" poll,[11] Whitten was not elected mayor. He was subsequently nominated by the Oregon Progressive Party for the position of state treasurer.[12]

Hunger strike

Also in 2012, Whitten embarked on a hunger strike on the steps of City Hall[13] to protest housing foreclosures and to call attention to the lack of facilities for the homeless in Portland.[14][15][16][17][18] The strike lasted almost two months, eliciting a statement from housing commissioner Nick Fish,[19][20] and ended after concessions were made by the Portland Mayor's Office.[21][22] Whitten continued to speak publicly about homelessness.[23]

Further community involvement

In 2013, Whitten was in the news again when he participated in the campaign for the legalization of same-sex marriage in Oregon.[24] Also in 2013, Whitten protested the banning of the Occupy Portland campers, and their replacement with an eating area and a fast food cart, by handing out free burritos. The cart was then removed and the furniture put in storage.[25]

In 2014 Whitten was president of the organization Know Your City.[26][27][28] In this role he conducted history-related walking tours of Portland.[29][30] That year several of his articles about excessive use of force by police were published in local magazines and news outlets.[31][32] He served on Portland's Transit Equity Advisory Committee.[33] Also in 2014 Whitten joined cyclists to protest the dangerous state of Portland city infrastructure after a cyclist was killed while riding in a bike lane.[34]

In 2015, by then a student at Portland State University,[35] Whitten was in the news again when he was arrested after complaining about conditions on a Portland streetcar.[36][37] In 2016, representing Know Your City, he spoke at a Portland City committee meeting about the importance of culturally relevant education.[38]

In 2017, Whitten took part in protests against Donald Trump's executive order banning travelers from specific countries to the US. During one protest he filmed a violent incident and his footage was used in news reports.[39][40] Whitten was later interviewed about the ban by Fox News; interviewer Tucker Carlson questioned Whitten's knowledge of the text of the order.[41]

Personal life

Whitten identifies as queer.[42]

References

  1. ↑ "The Cameron Whitten Story Part 2". The Progressive Soul, 27 May 2016.
  2. ↑ "Alberta Street neighbors will discuss Trader Joe's development: North and NE Portland news".The Oregonian, Casey Parks, December 18, 2013
  3. ↑ Mirk, Sarah. ""Apathy and Distraction"". Portland Mercury, Jul 5, 2012
  4. ↑ "Armchair Mayor: Cameron Whitten". Neighborhood Notes, March 2012
  5. ↑ Renee Guarriello Heath; Courtney Vail Fletcher; Ricardo Munoz (29 August 2013). Understanding Occupy from Wall Street to Portland: Applied Studies in Communication Theory. Lexington Books. pp. 142–. ISBN 978-0-7391-8322-9.
  6. ↑ "Cameron Whitten: 15 People Who Made a Difference in 2015". GoLocal PDX, December 23, 2015
  7. ↑ "Faces of Occupy Portland: Cameron Whitten, from the camp aiming at City Hall". The Oregonian/OregonLive, February 2012.
  8. ↑ Saker, Anne. "Cameron Whitten, from the camp aiming at City Hall". Faces of Occupy Portland. The Oregonian. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
  9. ↑ Theriault, Denis C. "Occupy Portland Activist Formally Launches Mayoral Bid". Retrieved 20 February 2012.
  10. ↑ Rawlins, Eva-Jeanette. "For Portland mayor: Cameron who? | Vanguard".
  11. ↑ "'Most intriguing' politico results: Three move forward, re-vote needed on one matchup".
  12. ↑ "Oregon Progressives nominate Cameron Whitten and marijuana petitioner Bob Wolfe for statewide office". The Oregonian/OregonLive, August 2012.
  13. ↑ "Cameron Whitten keeps stirring the pot on housing justice". Street Roots, July 11, 2012.
  14. ↑ "Cameron Whitten Enters Day 29 of Hunger Strike for Housing Justice". Daily Kos June 30, 2012.
  15. ↑ "Cameron Whitten camps, stages hunger strike at Portland City Hall". The Oregonian/OregonLive, June 2012.
  16. ↑ Mattos, Nick. "Hunger Striker Cameron Whitten’s Video Interview with PQ Monthly". PQ Monthly
  17. ↑ "Cameron Whitten ends hunger strike, Portland City Council announces housing summit". The Oregonian/OregonLive, July 2012.
  18. ↑ "Portland activist Cameron Whitten's hunger strike goes on; can anyone stop him?". The Oregonian/OregonLive, July 2012.
  19. ↑ "Nick Fish Issues Statement on Cameron Whitten's Hunger Strike". BlueOregon
  20. ↑ "Statement from Commissioner Fish regarding Cameron Whitten's hunger strike". The City of Portland Blog, Oregon"].
  21. ↑ Theriault, Denis C., "The End of a Hunger Strike". Portland Mercury.
  22. ↑ "Housing activist ending Portland hunger strike". Spokesman, July 26, 2012
  23. ↑ Cannon, Kelly. "Social activist visits InTech High after students send letters". The Herald Journal.
  24. ↑ "Why Oregon Is 2014's Marriage Crucible". Gay City News.
  25. ↑ "Food cart leaves Portland city hall". KOIN August 29, 2013
  26. ↑ "African American Leaders: What Portland Can Learn from Ferguson". March 13, 2015, Annie Ellison, GoLocalPDX
  27. ↑ "Activist Whitten named Know Your City's new exec". Portland Tribune
  28. ↑ "Cameron Whitten named executive director of nonprofit Know Your City". The Oregonian/OregonLive, November 2015.
  29. ↑ "Know your city's hidden histories". Portland Tribune
  30. ↑ "Get out of your bubble with walking tour". Portland Tribune
  31. ↑ Matt Pizzuti. "Where Does the Community Have Oversight Over the Police? A Chat with Cameron Whitten". PQ Monthly. December 18, 2014
  32. ↑ "Ferguson shooting: Why does it matter to Portlanders?". The Oregonian/OregonLive, November 2014.
  33. ↑ Young, Arashi. "Cameron Whitten Steps Into New Role". The Skanner 30 November 2015
  34. ↑ "Jury decision expected today in Kathryn Rickson wrongful death lawsuit". Bike Portland, 26 February 2014.
  35. ↑ "The evolution of Cameron Whitten: Portland's most famous young radical wonders what's next". The Oregonian, July 1, 2015. Casey Parks.
  36. ↑ "Activist Cameron Whitten refuses to leave Portland Streetcar, cited after complaining about leaky vent", The Oregonian/OregonLive, Molly Harbarger, May 2 1015.
  37. ↑ "Portlanders come to the support of cited civil leader". Portland Sun Times, By DeMario Phipps-Smith 05/05/2015
  38. ↑ Young, Arashi. "Advocates Push for Culturally Relevant Education". The Skanner 4 February 2016
  39. ↑ "Man shot on Morrison Bridge during Portland anti-Trump protest". The Oregonian/OregonLive, November 2016.
  40. ↑ "Mayor Charlie Hales calls for investigation into police use of force in activists' arrest". The Oregonian/OregonLive, November 2016
  41. ↑ "'Have You Read the Orders?': Tucker Takes on Anti-Trump Protest Organizer". 30 January 2017. Fox News Insider, January 30, 2017.
  42. ↑ Staff, KATU.com. "Portland Mayoral Candidate Cameron Whitten". KATU. Retrieved 2018-06-01.
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