Portland, Oregon
"I pray each night this cycle will slow down,
that the gears will rust under the tears shed
by every grieving mother, that angry teens fingers
will turn to pencils instead of triggers."
-Noah schultz
gun violence in portland.
about this site
This website was created for three purposes.
First, this website will share an intimate story of three people in Portland, Oregon, whose lives have been affected by guns. Asianique Savage lost her mother at six; Noah Schultz spent seven and a half years in a youth correctional facility; and Jamal Ford was paralyzed in his second shoot-out. This website also covers a memorial service for L.J. Irving Jr., who lost his life when mediating an argument. All of these stories are created through the voice of these individuals and their families.
Second, this website will act as a landing page pointing people in the direction of local organizations working hard to end gun violence in Portland.
Third, this website is a donation page offering scholarship funds for children who have lost a parent to gun violence and are seeking to further their education. For 2016 / 2017 all scholarship funds will go to Asianique Savage who is starting her freshmen year studying psychology at Grambling State University in Louisiana.
Please browse through the website and click on video icons to hear Asianique, Noah and Jamal tell stories. If you are inclined to donate to the scholarship fund please do so at the bottom of the site. Thank you.
Asianique savage lost her mother when she was only 6-years-old.
Asianique's mother and stepfather were sitting on the front porch when a car drove by and sprayed the house with 24 bullets. Asianique's mother was killed by nine and her stepfather was blinded by one while she and her siblings had fallen asleep watching The Lion King. Asianique and her three brothers were raised by their grandmother, Perlia Bell. Listen to Asia tell her story below.
Perlia Bell lost her 24-year-old daughter.
And then was given four grandchildren to raise.
Noah Schultz
Seven and a half years in a youth correctional facility and Noah has devoted himself to inspiring, empowering and changing lives through poetry.
Boomerang Bullets
by Noah Schultz
It’s no surprise our language is filled
with gun talk In a land where inner city
gunshots fill ear drums more often than
cliché sayings and phrases
Things like “Shoot from the hip” &
“Stick to your guns” & “ I need a trigger
puller” are etched into the idioms used
by our culture.
I look back on my own pages of
poetry where I describe my mouth
as a pistol and words as bullets
I dig through my mind like an obsessive
anthropologist trying to uncover my
subconscious obsession with words
that arm themselves as weapons
I find myself back to the days when I
felt helpless, where I would dream
myself safe with the plastic M-16 resting
against my shoulder, I was 7-years-old.
When Boogeymen popped up outside my
window I would draw down and threaten
with death.
I fast forward to the day the plastic turned
to steel. $300 and drug dealer placed a pistol
in my hand, I was 14-years-old.
When rivals popped up around corners
I would draw down and threaten with death.
Shattered lives provide perfect sized tiles for
the mosaic of violence .
Kids turn to Criminals as they strive to say
alive under the protection of bullets.
These young minds forget the bullets they
fire can boomerang back.
Running rivals turn to black ski masks. The other
side of the sword swings fast. Explosions from
gun barrels send hot lead to rest in bodies too
young to vote, too young to buy liquor.
Smiling school pictures find their ways to
the hands of news reporters and RIP t-shirts.
I pray each night this cycle will slow down,
that the gears will rust under the tears shed
by every grieving mother, that angry teens fingers
will turn to pencils instead of triggers.
L.J. Irving Jr., 34, was shot in the back and killed while mediating a conflict on NE 82nd avenue. Every year his family holds a memorial service to honor a son, a brother, a father, a cousin and a friend.
He left behind three children.
L.J. Irving Jr.'s family is fighting to find his killers.
Scholarship
To support children who have lost a parent to gun violence please click below
Related Links
Community resources
Asia Bell
Noah schultz
Jamal ford
L.J. Irving Jr.
Project supported by the
Self-narrative photographs by
Asianique Savage. All other
photographs, website design and
reporting © Allison Kwesell.
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