When Raiford was a child, her grandparents' restaurant was the site of a racist action in which Portland police officers threw dead possums onto the business' doorstep.

[1] On the morning of September 26, 2010, Raiford's nephew Andre Dupree Payton was shot and killed in downtown Portland.

[3][4] In 2015, Raiford was arrested, charged and jailed[5] for obstructing traffic and disorderly conduct by five officers, at a march she had organized to honor Michael Brown.

[8] Don't Shoot Portland also published an in-depth report on Riot Control Agents, describing the irreparable harm caused by RCAs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

[9] In 2022, Raiford was critical of public misinformation provided by the Portland police in the aftermath of the Normandale Park shooting and called for an independent investigation.