Prominent Tenant Activist Margot Black is Stepping Down, As Allegations of Racism Roil Her Organization

Portland Tenants United, co-founded by Margot Black, was a central force in getting the city to pass new renter protections last year. Dirk VanderHart

One of Portland's most-visible tenants' rights activists is stepping down, a week after another well-known activist accused her organization of having a "serious race problem."

While disputing many of the claims, Margot Black, a founder of the group Portland Tenants United (PTU), announced this afternoon on Facebook she's stepping down from leadership of the group, effective immediately.

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"I have always come to the work with positive intentions, but in reality the impacts of some of my actions have had very negative impacts on valued members of our community, and created harm," Black wrote on the social media site. "Effective immediately I am resigning from PTU Leadership, including the Organizing Committee."

The announcement is a direct result of a lengthy January 3 post on the site Medium by local activist Cameron Whitten, a former PTU ally. Citing a long series of events from last year, Whitten accused group of entrenched racism and wrote that the organization had been resistant to his attempts to rectify the matter.

Among Whitten's allegations are derogatory comments he says one PTU member made about Katrina Holland, the executive director of the group Community Alliance of Tenants (CAT), which PTU has at times clashed with. Holland is Black. Whitten also says PTU attempted to bring him on as a token black member, and recounts the singing of "This Land as Your Land" at a retreat, over the objections of a native PTU ally in attendance.

"By the end of the month, Portland Tenants United should prepare and post a public apology for all of its racial hostilities to Portland activists of color over the past year," Whitten said toward the end of his post, which focused lots of attention on Black. "This public apology should include a detailed recognition of all major harassment incidents, being careful to respect the privacy of their victims."

The post has reverberated around Portland's activist community, causing some former allies to question one another's actions. Holland, the director of the CAT, responded to it on Sunday.

In the wake of Whitten's post, PTU has lost three members, according to Black, but the larger backlash on social media prompted her to step down.

"I’m so clearly this lighting rod that was starting to become a liability for PTU even if it wasn’t fair," Black tells the Mercury of her decision, first reported by Willamette Week. She disputes much of Whitten's account and believes he overstated other details.

Whitten's post—and Black's departure—raise questions about the future of PTU, which along with CAT has been a central voice for tenants as Portland's housing crisis deepens. In particular, the group saw a major victory last year when it helped convince Portland city council to enact new relocation payments for tenants who are given no-cause evictions or have their rents raised by 10 percent or more.

More frequently, it's been a rabble-rousing force that disrupts local landlord shindigs and has hounded state Sen. Rod Monroe—a landlord who helped nix rent control during last year's legislative session—outside of his church.

In a phone conversation today, Black said she'd been looking for an opportunity to step back from PTU for some time. "I’m burned out. I look forward to the 40 hours of work I put in a week being spread around," she said, noting: "I hate how it happened." She says she's confident the group will continue on without her involvement.

Meanwhile, Whitten, in a Facebook post this afternoon, continued to criticize PTU's response to his allegations.

"Even if PTU posts an apology, I am unconvinced that they or Margot are apologetic," he wrote. "While myself and my supporters have been focused on accountability, the response from PTU representatives has overwhelmingly been of self-interest."

