Following the killing of George Floyd in May, Bend resident Riccardo Waites needed an outlet for his anger and frustration.

For years, Waites, a 52-year-old Black man who has lived in Bend for the past two decades, watched videos of police violence against Black people. But Floyd’s death was especially unsettling. Floyd, a Black man from Minneapolis, died May 25 in police custody after a Minneapolis officer kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes.

The incident sparked protests nationwide, and motivated Waites to take action.

Waites launched the Central Oregon Black Leaders Assembly, a nonprofit organization that supports Black people and other people of color in Central Oregon.

“I wanted to provide this great safety net in all areas of life for people of color,” Waites said. “I wanted them to have somewhere they could feel safe and talk openly.”

The group started as a Facebook page in May and grew to a nonprofit organization with more than 500 members seven months later. The response from the community far surpassed Waite’s expectations.

“The level of support we got from senators and the governor who cared enough about people of color in Central Oregon to support us, it’s been amazing and mind blowing,” he said.

Through his organization, Waites has connected with city and school leaders across the region. His group worked with school districts to review curriculum and ensure that it included the history of people of color in the United States. In the fall, Waites participated in a project about race, power and privilege in Bend at Realms High School.

Waites also focused his group’s resources in Prineville, where several heated protests took place this year between Black Lives Matter protesters and armed counter protesters.

Waites met with city leaders in Prineville to discuss how the protesters’ calls for equality and police accountability could be heard in the small Crook County town.

Through those discussions, Waites was invited to join a committee that oversees how the police department is trained. Part of the training includes identifying racial bias.

Waites plans to continue working with the city and other leaders in Prineville, such as clergy members and school district staff, on issues of equality.

“I think we have already begun to put our footprint on Prineville and it’s only going to get bigger,” Waites said.

Waites has other plans for his organization. He is developing a new program that encourages people of color to consider transferring their careers to Central Oregon to help diversify the predominantly white community.

The program would attract people of color to careers in law enforcement, forestry or business in the region.

“This is definitely something we are going to really dig into in 2021,” Waites said.

There’s no question about it: Central Oregon residents faced unprecedented challenges in 2020, from a crippling pandemic to social justice unrest to wildfires that turned communities to ash. But with every development, someone stepped forward to help, answering a personal calling to improve the lives of neighbors and strangers alike because it was the right thing to do. They were selfless. They were generous. They made a difference.