Black Alliance & Social Empowerment is leading an effort to overturn the years-long prison term given a firefighter who says he was attacked

By Debora Gordon for Ashland.news

Black Alliance & Social Empowerment (BASE) member Kim McKandes describes the organization as “existing to make sure Oregon is a safe place for African Americans to live.”

McKandes, who serves on BASE’s Oversight Committee, said, “We know the history of Oregon, when it comes to race.” He mentioned the state’s history of exclusion laws, minority taxes and sundown towns.

“Many have concerns about state law enforcement here; the schools, if other children will accept their children,” McKandes said. “So we want to make it comfortable for them and we want to bridge gaps. So we have a racial equity liaison committee, which works with police departments in Ashland and beyond, as well as the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department.”

Executive Director Vance Beach started BASE in Medford in 2019 in conjunction with a Juneteenth celebration, McKandes said.

“Vance decided to put something together that would actually feel safe for people and where they can actually understand that the state isn’t what it used to be. It isn’t what it should be. It is evolving,” McKandes said.

Among BASE’s community projects is Justice for Brian “Hakiym” Simpson, an Oregon firefighter who got into a fight with another firefighter in Josephine County in June 2024. Simpson said the other firefighter, who is white, shouted racist slurs at him and threw the first punch. Simpson said he fought back after a seemingly endless stream of attacks. He was arrested, tried and sentenced in a Josephine County courtroom to 70 months in prison. The attacker was not arrested or tried.

“Hakiym moved to Oregon because he had an opportunity to do what he wanted to do, which was firefighting,” McKandes said. “He’s hating it right now, that he is not able to help out with the fires in California. He moved here thinking he could follow and fulfill a dream, wanting to serve the people, and he was attacked racially.”

McKandes said Simpson “attempted to disengage and remove himself from an assault. He knew the attacker but they had never worked on any fire crews together, but he knew him. It was just a situation that started out as a misunderstanding, mainly on the side of the aggressor. Then … he attacked Hakiym, who now is in prison for something he should not be in prison for. It was self-defense.” 

Simpson, 42, has been incarcerated since July and was found guilty of assault in the second degree in August. He was sentenced to 70 months. April 2030 is the earliest release date.

McKandes describes Simpson as “a person who cares about community and who was officially honored by Rosa Parks and civil rights lawyer Morris Dees from the Southern Poverty Law Center; including having his name placed on the Wall of Tolerance at the Civil Rights Memorial Center (in Montgomery, Alabama) for his work in the community as a youth. There is a mural of him painted in downtown Cincinnati by Arts Wave in conjunction with the Contemporary Arts Center of Cincinnati for his work for the community.”

Before moving west, Simpson was active in the Cincinnati hip-hop community as a poet and songwriter. McKandes said that in Ohio, Simpson was a founding member and director of the Cincinnati chapter of the HipHop Congress and a founding member and program director of Elementz Cincinnati Community Youth Center.

“He has traveled as a motivational speaker to campuses across the country speaking about social justice and grassroots organizing voter registration work from 2003 to 2020. He worked with former Ohio Gov. John Kasich on the Graduation Achievement Program promoting literacy among ninth graders and worked with former Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory on the Arts and Entertainment and Civic Engagement committees.”

BASE has not yet had a response from Gov. Tina Kotek regarding justice for Simpson, McKandes said. “We’re in the phase of collecting signatures. We’re trying to set up meetings to really get in front of Tina Kotek. On her desk, in front of her face. She’s very behind civil rights and nonprofit organizations.”

For those interested in getting involved in BASE, McKandes encourages interested community members.

“We have different events throughout the year. We’re always looking for volunteers. Our Juneteenth celebration is the second-largest celebration in the state and takes place the weekend nearest to Juneteenth.”  

Other volunteer opportunities include staffing tables at different events for other organizations because, McKandes said, “We believe in connecting the community through different partnerships.”

A significant concern for BASE is the administration of President Donald Trump and its stand against diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

“We are all for equitable services, resources, and anything that a person needs to succeed,” McKandes said. “We believe that it should be provided in some form, so we are fighting right now just to make sure that people are receiving the things that they need…. We’re watching to see exactly what’s going to happen, besides what’s happened so far, such as executive orders, repealing of the equal employment order.”

“We’re trying to help people understand, so that they’ll realize that not everyone has the boots in order to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. So sometimes the boots need to be supplied.”

Debora Gordon is a writer, artist, educator and nonviolence activist who recently moved to Ashland from Oakland, California. Email her at [email protected].

March 3: Added Brian “Hakiym” Simpson’s age.