2012 has been a crazy year for our community & for us.

In Portland, houses were raided, folks were kicked out of their homes, and comrades were arrested. In the cafe, windows got smashed, some staff changed over, and our bank account hit zero.

Despite the roadblocks, we’ve all persevered:

Solidarity actions took place, folks stayed in their foreclosed homes, benefits were held.
At the cafe, people donated a lot to us, new folks started feeling comfortable in their roles, and awesome events were booked. We’ve used the donations to pay ourselves again, buy better equipment (including a hot food holder & PA system), and for once establish capital. We unfortunately have not yet made our goal of $20,000 but with our own determination & the contributions of our community, people still have a space to come to.

And we appreciate the help more than you know.

The Red and Black Cafe is committed to mutual aid—helping our community back through providing a safer space for those pushed to the edges of our society, for those doing work to make positive changes, for those who just want to grab a good vegan meal & a warm cup of coffee.

Most importantly, we are just one small example of what can happen when people come together with a common purpose.

As 2013 approaches, we will be entering into our 13th year & we are hopeful that this new year will bring the good things of the past and more! That we can all keep moving forward in our lives as the bad stuff comes our way.
We want the cafe to be apart of the solidarity that keeps us all going.

We want to hold more events that benefit our community.
We want to better support actions that stand up for people & animal’s liberation.
We want to take care of ourselves with paid sick days & healthcare.
We want our physical space to reflect the changes that we as a collective have gone through.

As gratitude to those who donated, we will be sending a gift out to you this coming month. Thanks again so much, we couldn’t have done it without you.

For a better world tomorrow— Solidarity Forever & Happy New Year!
The Red & Black Collective