In Rural Oregon, Threats And Backlash Follow Racial Justice Protests

Shortly after Minneapolis police killed George Floyd, 28-year-old Josie Stanfield organized a Black Lives Matter protest in the Central Oregon town of Prineville, home to about 10,000 residents. Fewer than 1% are Black.

"The reason I did this was because I went to high school here, and I didn't have a good time in the community. I've always been targeted for being Black since high school," Stanfield said.

She remembers classmates throwing food at her or whispering the N-word in the hallways.

A couple weeks after the first Prineville protest, Stanfield met with local police chief Dale Cummins to discuss issues of race and policing. It didn't go well. She posted a video about the meeting on Facebook.

"We were repeatedly told that we are only .8% of the county. Basically, why are we making noise? Why are we asking them to do things when we are the only ones that care?" Stanfield narrates in the June 12 post.