PORTLAND (NewsNation) — A trio of fourth generation Portlanders and brothers are bringing their community together and picking up trash after months of protests in Portland.
The MacLean brothers, Scott, Alex and Collin have spent nearly a week cleaning up parks near the Justice Center where thousands of people gathered every night to protest racial injustice and the murders of unarmed Black men in the United States.
For the brothers, this has nothing to do with politics or the groups that gather downtown. It started with Scott Maclean who works in commercial real estate.
“In our industry you hear over and over again how many companies want to leave the city,” said MacLean. “And so on my lunch break I thought well, I’m going to go do something about it.”
He started cleaning up the trash each day but realized the job was too big for one man. So he called his brothers Alex and Colin.
“The first day we didn’t realize there was actually stuff stuck to the sidewalk, burnt plastic, or rubber or something,” he said.
They soon recruited more people and protesters to help clean the streets.
They have ended up with more than 500 pounds of garage and even bought some of their own equipment including a trailer to haul off the trash. They hope their actions will bring the community back together.