About
Portland Antiracism League (PAL) was founded by Dr. Cynthia Fowler, M.D. and Daniel Portis-Cathers in October, 2025 to facilitate antiracism organizing in greater Portland, OR.
PAL’s vision is to see Portland community members and neighborhood organizations become openly antiracist. We are building an antiracism support network for antiracists in and around our area. We invite anyone who is interested in antiracism to join our gatherings. Our calendar gives up-to-date details.
PAL encourages deeper learning through workshops and trainings.
We partner with Equity Consulting Network to host:
Two-day ReThinking Racial Equity and Social Justice trainings. “The in-person workshops are designed to train participants at all levels of racial equity development to engage in learning and action around issues of race and racism.” Our goal is to create a community of antiracists who share a common analysis and language. The training provides a foundation for a deeper understanding of race and racism to guide us in dismantling systemic racism.
Putting It Into Practice gatherings. Learning does not start and stop with the training session. We will work on translating knowledge, skills, and understanding of racial equity and social justice into actionable results. This process is designed to work with participants of previous antiracism training.
Team
Dr. Cynthia Fowler, MD is the daughter of Eunice M. Fowler (Goodman) and the late John W. Fowler, Jr who have their roots in Louisiana and Mississippi, respectively. She was born in Watts and grew up in Altadena, CA with her parents and two older brothers, James and Mark Fowler. As a Black woman who has spent much of her life being educated and working in White institutions, Dr. Fowler has grown to understand how crucial anti-racism organizing is in the movements for justice and liberation. She has organized and facilitated workshops with the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond (PISAB) and held a leadership role with the Portland NAACP before joining the Equity Consulting Network (ECN) to continue movement building through education. Cynthia serves on the boards of the Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods and Cascade State Medical Association. Dr. Fowler also has a commitment to growing her knowledge and skills in nonviolent struggle as the means to obtain liberation and systemic transformation and has served as both a moderator and participant in the James Lawson Institute.
Her primary career has been as a psychiatrist for more than 20 years, currently working in private practice in Portland. She is an emerging mosaic artist and spends her free time with loved ones, sewing, and enjoying the outdoors.
Daniel Portis-Cathers grew up in Italy as the son of conservative evangelical missionaries. He became interested in civic engagement and social justice after returning to the U.S. for schooling. For the last 20 years he has been committed to work in his community by serving on several boards including Southeast Uplift, the Portland NAACP Branch 1120B and his local neighborhood association. He has supported many in-depth antiracism trainings over the years through People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond (PISAB) and more recently with Equity Consulting Network. This new board (PAL) represents an increasingly focused effort to build an antiracism network within his immediate circle of friends and co-workers.
His career as a composer and music producer for film and television has led to extensive travel opportunities. He also enjoys teaching music lessons to his grandkids and baking pies for friends and family.
Calendar of Events
Donate to PAL
Money will be used to support trainings, give scholarships, host gatherings. (clicking the button will direct you to a donation page hosted by our fiscal sponsor – Southeast Uplift)