The Portland suburb of Gresham, Oregon, has sent ripples through the community by flying a Black Lives Matter flag over city hall.<\/p>\n

Two groups of protesters squared off Wednesday after mayoral candidate Joe Demers organized a \u201cKeep Gresham Sound\u2014Take the BLM Flag Down\u201d rally to protest the flag, which was raised July 15 on a flagpole below the Oregon state flag following a unanimous vote of the city council.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe decision to put the flag up is something that should have involved the entire community,\u201d Mr. Demers said in a report in TheOutlook.<\/p>\n

The rally drew about 100 counter-protesters wearing \u201cBlack Lives Matter\u201d T-shirts and carrying signs with messages like, \u201cBLM is only divisive if you disagree that BLM,\u201d with one organizer calling the objections to the flag \u201ca form of racism.\u201d<\/p>\n

The flap failed to deter the city council, which voted Tuesday to extend the flying of the flag from the end of July to the end of August.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe phrase Black Lives Matter does not imply that other lives do not matter,\u201d said the city in a July 15 statement. \u201cInstead, it calls attention to the reality that the simple presumption that every life matters too frequently fails to be applied to Black and brown lives. In raising the flag, the City hopes to provide a space for civil conversations about the issues of race and inequity.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Multnomah County Republicans said in a Tuesday statement that the city council was \u201ceither clueless or committed to overthrowing the Constitution.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe as Republicans, the party of Lincoln, obviously have no objections to promoting messages of racial equality,\u201d said party chairman James Buchal, \u201cbut these City Councilors are tarnishing the City of Gresham by flying the flag of a radical Marxist organization hostile to all fundamental American values.\u201d<\/p>\n

Located immediately east of Portland, Gresham has a population of about 110,000 and has been ranked as the fourth-largest city in Oregon.<\/p>\n

At least one other jurisdiction, Ann Arbor, Michigan, has raised a generic Black Lives Matter flag over city hall, but Mr. Buchal pointed out that the black flag with white lettering and yellow stripes being flown in Gresham bears the logo of the Black Lives Matter Global Network and is available on the group\u2019s website.<\/p>\n

The BLM Global Network has been accused of promoting a Marxist agenda: Among its goals are to defund the police and \u201cdisrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement,\u201d while co-founder Patrisse Cullors said in 2015 that she and co-founder Alicia Garza were \u201ctrained Marxists.\u201d<\/p>\n

The group, founded in 2013 after the death of Trayvon Martin, has also been vocal about the presidential race. Last month, Ms. Cullors told CNN that \u201cour goal is to get Trump out\u201d and that \u201che should resign now.\u201d<\/p>\n

The council\u2019s vote to fly the flag came as city hall grapples with a shake-up tinged with racial tension. The mayor, city manager and police chief announced their retirements last month, while the assistant city manager, who is Black, said in a June 8 letter obtained by TheOutlook that he received a \u201cdismal\u201d reception and attributed it to subtle racism.<\/p>\n

Earlier this week, the council appointed community volunteer Vincent Jones-Dixon, who is Black, to fill the vacancy left after a councilor assumed the mayor\u2019s job.<\/p>\n

The city council also voted last month to fly the Juneteenth flag throughout the month of June.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs our community, nation and world grapple with the racial injustices laid bare by the tragic death of George Floyd and so many others, Council felt it important to stand behind the simple notion that Black lives matter,\u201d said the city\u2019s statement.<\/p>\n