It's been four years since Ta-Nehisi Coates made an exhaustive case for reparations in the pages of The Atlantic.

And on Monday, white Portlanders who agree with the idea had the chance to kick in $10 and buy a drink for a neighbor of color. It was an event billed as a "reparations happy hour" by prominent local activist Cameron Whitten, 27, and hosted by Brown Hope, a nonprofit he co-founded.

The premise was simple: Black, brown and indigenous folks could show up and collect $10 at the door donated by their white neighbors. In total, 40 people attended Monday's event.

"The best part for me was showing up like Portland Oprah and see their eyes light up when I handed them $10," Whitten said. "Because it was about more than that."

The reparations happy hour signified the transformation of an idea that progressive Portlanders support into something tangible for the city's residents of color.

"We do a lot of talking. We do a lot of making excuses," Whitten said. "But how often do we actually recognize and acknowledge someone's suffering? We're so used to being denied any sort of justice that $10 is a respite."

North Portland's Backyard Social hosted the inaugural event for two hours starting at 6 p.m. The next one, Whitten said, will be at the Back to Eden Bakery, where a black woman was kicked out earlier this month by a pair of employees who have since been fired.

That event is scheduled for June 20.

Whitten said the happy hours were borne of "a dire need to connect folks" in an environment that's often hostile to people of color.

People of Color are POWERFUL. Amazing turnout at Brown Hope’s inaugural Reparations Happy Hour event! pic.twitter.com/3wlqLpb3lr — Cameron Whitten (@CameronWhitten) May 22, 2018

"Portland does not feed their spirit," he said.

In fact, the longtime activist, best known for a 55-day hunger strike in front of City Hall to protest housing issues and his presence on the front lines of the many Portland demonstrations during the first year of the Trump administration, recruited seven white allies to fend off possible threats from alt-right groups threatening to disrupt the happy hour.

"We see a lot of folks who want to paint us in a bad light just because black, brown and indigenous people want a safe space," Whitten said.

The happy hour is just one of many events Whitten and Brown Hope are organizing to address inequality across the city. He's finalizing details for another event in August. And fundraising is currently in the works for a $2,000 Brown Hope Prize for an individual or group that promotes the organization's core mission.

"Our goal is to heal from the disease of racism. And we see that happening through deep civic empowerment and through trauma-informed activism," he said.

--Eder Campuzano | 503.221.4344

ecampuzano@oregonian.com