Black-led initiative tackles graffiti and litter along Portland’s MLK Jr. Blvd

PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) – A new Black-led initiative is tackling graffiti and litter along Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Portland, with a long-term goal of uplifting the area and encouraging investment in local businesses.

The program, called the Community Clean Up Consortium (C3), is a collaboration between The Coalition of Black Men and the Soul District Business Association.

Since late April, a two-man crew from Scorpion Surface Cleaning LLC has been removing graffiti from storefronts along NE MLK Jr. Boulevard.

“As we keep going, we always find a weird alley with graffiti or a business that needs more help. I think there’s more demand than we’re currently meeting,” said Vincent West, CEO of Scorpion Surface Cleaning LLC. “Being able to keep the community clean — especially in Martin Luther King’s namesake — is just something I’ve wanted to be a part of.”

The project is largely driven by a need from local businesses that have experienced vandalism.

Andrea Bontemps, owner of Le Bontemps Café, said that since Nike closed its landmark MLK Jr. Boulevard store in 2023, she’s noticed an uptick in graffiti on her property. While speaking with FOX 12, she also pointed out a busted window.

“I think customers look at that as a flaw — like, what are you doing? You’re not cleaning it up. But I can’t keep up with all the graffiti that’s out here now,” Bontemps said.

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C3 is fully funded by the Reimagine Oregon Economic Opportunity Investment Fund Grant, which supports economic and business development for communities disproportionately impacted by cannabis prohibition — often predominantly Black and Brown neighborhoods.

The grant also covers the cost of the graffiti removal work.

“While it’s great to have volunteer efforts, we felt the need to have a contractor consistently do the work and understand what’s needed to remove graffiti. Graffiti removal takes a lot of effort,” said Tony Jones, chair of economic development for the Coalition of Black Men.

C3 has intentionally partnered with small, local businesses like Scorpion Surface Cleaning to create economic opportunities in the Soul District.

“The main goal is really to provide work, which means contracting dollars to those businesses so they can generate wealth, grow as a company, and also provide living-wage jobs to support Black and other families in our community to live and thrive economically,” Jones said.

James Posey, president of the Portland NAACP, is credited with the vision for the project. He said he was inspired years ago by a program in his hometown called Keep Indianapolis Clean, and wanted to bring a similar initiative to Portland. He believes C3 can help restore pride in NE MLK Jr. Blvd.

“The image of Black men hasn’t always been good. This gives people an opportunity to see us doing good work, and it’s a win-win proposition for all we are doing,” Posey said. “We can’t make this a one-off or transitional episode — we need to make it happen every day.”

C3 hopes to pressure wash storefronts all the way to Lombard Street by the end of May. Long term, they want to turn the effort into a twice-a-year cleanup, as they work to secure additional funding through local businesses and organizations.

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