Demetria Hester (born ) is a Black activist, speaker, and hate crime survivor based in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. She is a frequent organizer of and speaker at Portland's

George Floyd protests The George Floyd protests were a series of protests and civil unrest against police brutality and racism that began in Minneapolis on May 26, 2020, and largely took place during 2020. The civil unrest and protests began as part of internati ...

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...

rallies, and vigils for victims of police violence.

Early life and education

Demetria Hester moved from

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

to the Pacific Northwest searching for a fresh start for herself and her two children. She first moved to the state of

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, then to Portland, Oregon in 2014. She worked at a restaurant, studied at the

Art Institute of Portland The Art Institute of Portland was a for-profit art school in Portland, Oregon, which briefly operated as a non-profit institution before it closed in 2018. The school was one of a number of Art Institutes, a franchise of for-profit art colleges ...

and become a

sous chef A sous-chef is a chef who is second in command in a kitchen; the person ranking next after the head chef, usually the more hands on manager with regards to training staff and organising the kitchen. Duties and functions The sous-chef has many re ...

. Hester is fond of the cartoon character

SpongeBob SquarePants ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' (or simply ''SpongeBob'') is an American animated comedy television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It chronicles the adventures of the title character a ...

Surviving a racist attack

Hester survived a verbal and physical assault by

white supremacist White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other Race (human classification), races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any Power (social and polit ...

and murderer Jeremy Joseph Christian on May 25, 2017, while waiting for the light-rail train in Portland. Hester claims police did not take her seriously when they responded to the incident. The next day, Christian fatally stabbed two men and injured a third on a different train in what is known as the 2017 Portland train attack. Hester testified against Christian at his trial.

Activism and arrest

Hester became a visible leader during the 2020 summer-long

George Floyd Protests The George Floyd protests were a series of protests and civil unrest against police brutality and racism that began in Minneapolis on May 26, 2020, and largely took place during 2020. The civil unrest and protests began as part of internati ...

, and is a founder and lead organizer of Moms United for Black Lives, a group that participates in protests to end

police violence Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, but is not limited to, ...

against Black people. This group is led by a collective of Black women, including

Don't Shoot Portland Don't Shoot Portland, also called Don't Shoot PDX, is a Portland, Oregon-based accountability group formed by Black Lives Matter supporter Teressa Raiford to scrutinize actions of the Portland Police Bureau. History Don't Shoot Portland held a ...

’s founder Teressa Raiford and Danialle James. Hester was arrested at the George Floyd Protests on August 10, 2020, booked on suspicion of disorderly conduct and interfering with a police officer, and held in the Multnomah County Jail. Later, Multnomah County District Attorney

Mike Schmidt Michael Jack Schmidt (born September 27, 1949) is an American former professional baseball third baseman who played his entire 18-season career in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies. Schmidt was a 12-time All-Star and a ...

declined to prosecute Hester and other protesters who were charged with small nonviolent offenses. All charges were dropped. Hester led a group from Moms United for Black Lives to Washington, D.C., on January 20, 2020, for

Martin Luther King Day Martin Luther King Jr. Day (officially Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., and sometimes referred to as MLK Day) is a federal holiday in the United States marking the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. It is observed on the third Monda ...

, an occasion which she called a "beautiful and epic moment in history."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hester, Demetria 1974 births Activists from Portland, Oregon African-American activists Black Lives Matter people Civil rights protests in the United States George Floyd protests in Portland, Oregon Living people