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For the Campesinos · The Schmidt Show PDX

• 0:13
  SPEAKER_02: Welcome back.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_02: My name is Mike Schmidt,
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_02: former Multnomah County District Attorney,
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_02: current podcast storyteller,
• 0:19
  and community member committed to making Portland the best
• 0:22
  place it can possibly
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_02: be.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_02: Today's story, some fights you don't choose, they choose you.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_02: I'm going to give you a little history.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_02: Part 1, 1989.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_02: Portland wants to rename a street for Dr.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_02: Martin Luther King Jr.
• 0:36
  What should have been an act of grace became a legal battle
• 0:39
  that climbed all the
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_02: way to the Oregon Supreme Court.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_02: Fast forward, part two.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_02: Twenty years later,
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_02: a community tried to do it again,
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_02: this time to honor Cesar Chavez,
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_02: farm worker,
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_02: organizer,
• 1:02
  a man who gave voice to people this city depended on but rarely
• 1:05
  stopped to see.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_02: It took three years,
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_02: two false starts,
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_02: a route that ran through Chinatown,
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_02: a commissioner who changed his vote after promising he wouldn't.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_02: And then a third effort,
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_02: the one that finally held in 2010,
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_02: 39th Avenue became Cesar E.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_02: Chavez Boulevard.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_02: For the people who made that happen, it wasn't just a street sign.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_02: It was proof.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_02: We are here.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_02: We belong.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_02: This city sees us.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_02: They fought hard for that feeling.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_02: And when it was over, they thought, finally, the fight is done.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_02: Part three, it wasn't.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_02: On March 19,
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_02: 2026,
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_02: the New York Times published a story,
• 1:40
  an investigation alleging that Cesar Chavez had sexually abused
• 1:43
  girls in the
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_02: movement,
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_02: daughters of organizers,
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_02: and assaulted Dolores Huerta,
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_02: his own partner in the struggle.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_02: The name had to change.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_02: There was no path where it didn't.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_02: But the people being called back into that arena,
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_02: the ones who had already given so much,
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_02: they weren't rushing toward anything.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_02: They were still processing,
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_02: still mourning,
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_02: still remembering the vitriol,
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_02: the racist attacks,
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_02: the way that fight had cost them things they never fully recovered.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_02: But they've come back anyway, reluctantly.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_02: The duty's painful and unwelcome, but it is theirs.
• 2:14
  And this time they came back with something that could only
• 2:16
  have come from that
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_02: pain,
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_02: a new name,
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_02: Campesinos Boulevard.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_02: Because somewhere in the grief and the hard work of separate
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_02: A name that belongs to all of them.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_02: A name that can't be taken back.
• 2:41
  They're asking this council to be spared the worst of what
• 2:44
  history says comes next.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_02: They've lived that story.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_02: They know how it goes.
• 2:48
  And they are hoping Portland has learned enough to write a
• 2:50
  different ending.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_02: Today on The Schmidt Show,
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_02: I sit down with Marta Wembes and former Portland Mayor Tom Potter,
• 2:57
  two people who understand in their bones what it means when a
• 3:01
  community has to
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_02: fight just to be seen.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_02: We don't know how this one ends, but we know this.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_02: The people who are showing up,
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_02: tired,
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_02: grieving,
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_02: and resolute,
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_02: they've already proven that they will see it through.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_02: The question is whether the rest of this city will meet them there.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_02: Let's get into it.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_02: Well, I'm so excited for my conversation and my guest today.
• 3:32
  Two people I admire very greatly in our community that have
• 3:36
  been doing work in this
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_02: community for a long time.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_02: And that really is, you know, what the Schmidt Show is all about.
• 3:42
  It was originally a negative campaign and I wanted to bring on
• 3:46
  people who are doing
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_02: positive things in this community to tell the good stories.
• 3:50
  So my guests today are Marta Huembes and former mayor,
• 3:54
  Portland,
• 3:55
  Tom Potter.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_02: Welcome to the show.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_02: It's good to be here.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_02: I want to talk today about an issue that's been in the news.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_02: In fact,
• 4:07
  I think this last weekend I read an opinion piece talking about
• 4:11
  the renaming of the
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_02: street Cesar Chavez.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_02: And so Marta, we've been here before.
• 4:18
  This isn't the first time this community has had a conversation
• 4:20
  about renaming
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_02: streets and particularly that street when we named it Cesar Chavez.
• 4:26
  But I wanted to start before we get into the renaming of the
• 4:28
  street a little bit
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_02: about kind of how we got here all of a sudden.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_02: And I remember March 19th of this year,
• 4:37
  an article came out in the New York Times that allegations of
• 4:41
  abuse by Cesar Chavez
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_02: to children and to his longtime labor partner.
• 4:50
  What was that like for you as somebody who's worked in the
• 4:55
  community for so long on
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_02: so many organizing issues?
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: Mike,
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: For me, I remember so clearly it's just been like a month and a half.
• 5:07
  So,
• 5:07
  but it feels like it's been a long time for the pain that the
• 5:12
  horrible,
• 5:13
  terrible news that
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: We did hear that day.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: I thought it was fake news.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: You know, there's so many fake news.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: So I go, no, this is like somebody's putting the fake news against us.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, literally, that's what I thought.
• 5:29
  And then I start looking into different pages or different
• 5:32
  outlets for news.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: And I go, it's like the same.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_00: And I go, no, it cannot be.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: And then I went through more outlets in a newspaper that I trust.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: And I go, let me just, if this is true, I'm going to read it there.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: And bingo.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: That, it was true.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: I felt like I was numb.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: I felt paralyzed.
• 5:59
  And I was horrified that this person who had been a key in the
• 6:06
  community in a
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_00: leadership position raped.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: and her children.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: And that's just not acceptable.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: I felt like I wanted it to throw up.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 6:25
  You know,
• 6:26
  I'll be honest,
• 6:28
  you know,
• 6:28
  you know,
• 6:28
  I'm obviously I'm a white guy.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_02: And when I heard the news, of course, I was like, that's horrible.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_02: That's terrible.
• 6:36
  But I don't think it impacted me like it has some of my friends
• 6:39
  in the Latino
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_02: community when I speak to them about it.
• 6:42
  I mean,
• 6:43
  folks,
• 6:44
  you know,
• 6:44
  obviously we've named streets in this community after him.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_02: But, you know, people's identity is connected to people.
• 6:54
  Cesar Chavez and I guess what people thought he represented for
• 6:59
  a long time.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: Correct.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, he did a lot of good things in development.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_00: But what he did with women and children is not acceptable.
• 7:11
  Many people at the time of the news,
• 7:14
  I started getting calls,
• 7:18
  crying,
• 7:19
  being in dismay.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_00: This is cannot be true.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_00: Some people is like, no, he did not do that.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_00: Some people, yes, he did.
• 7:31
  So a lot of thoughts that they felt that maybe somebody was
• 7:39
  just making that up.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_00: So it could be well seen, bad for our community.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_00: But it is very normal to feel that way.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_02: You shared with me before we started taping,
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_02: if you're okay with talking about it,
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_02: that you had a photo of Cesar Chavez in your home.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 8:00
  One of the things that when I was co-chairing to rename Cesar
• 8:04
  Chavez before,
• 8:05
  Miss Karen Leonard.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: a well-known African-American woman who,
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: she was the chairperson for renaming Martha Luther King.
• 8:15
  She knew the struggles that we went because they went through
• 8:18
  so many struggles
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_00: themselves,
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: right?
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: And then she gave me an original portrait with his signature.
• 8:29
  as a present so I have that frame in my living room with others
• 8:34
  of course not the
• 8:35
  only one and I had it since since then so it's been like a lot
• 8:41
  of years yeah that
• 8:43
  that frame has been part of my living room right so it was very
• 8:50
  hard going past the
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_00: living room and not like I go hmm
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not ready to take it down.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: It took me time to take it down.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: And I had to have my own process.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_00: I had to go through some grieving.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_00: And then I chose finally to take it down after my daughter.
• 9:09
  She goes,
• 9:09
  well,
• 9:10
  you know,
• 9:10
  she abused and this and that and you're saying this and that.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_00: And I go, mom, you still have it there.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_00: And I go, okay, wait.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_00: I go, I need to have my own process and I need to do it on my own time.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_00: However it is, it is okay.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_00: But I did it.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_00: So I finally, I took it down with some Palo Santo.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know if you know what Palo Santo is.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_00: No.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: So Palo Santo is incense for bad energies.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_00: So I did it like that.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_00: And I chose to cut it in 39 pieces.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_02: Why?
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: Because of the 39th street.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_00: So it was very intentional and very processed for me.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_00: That it meant a lot.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_00: Because...
• 10:02
  And the history at the time when we went through the process to
• 10:07
  rename his,
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: to honor his name,
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_00: it was very hard.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: And then it was 39.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_00: So I met him in 39 pieces.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_00: So, yeah.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_02: Well,
• 10:18
  we're going to talk about the process and I'm so happy to have
• 10:22
  the mayor here to
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_02: help us talk about that as well.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_02: But one thing I wanted to pick up in your story was...
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_02: Right as soon as almost it seemed like within 24 hours,
• 10:35
  there were calls even from elected leaders to rename Cesar
• 10:41
  Chavez Boulevard.
• 10:44
  You were part of the original group of people that fought that
• 10:48
  battle starting in
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_02: 2007,
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_02: 8,
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_02: 9,
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_02: and then 10.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_02: But you just said about needing time to process.
• 11:00
  How did that feel to you when almost immediately it was like a
• 11:03
  knee-jerk reaction
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_02: that people were calling to automatically rename the street again?
• 11:10
  To hear those statements from different people,
• 11:14
  it felt very disrespectful.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_00: Not for some people not taking their time in respecting elders.
• 11:26
  Respecting people who were part of the movement back then in
• 11:30
  the 60s and their
• 11:31
  grieving people who went through very hard times renaming or
• 11:38
  people who were born
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_00: in the movement and,
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: give them some time.
• 11:42
  So it just felt very disrespected,
• 11:46
  not only for me,
• 11:48
  but the community that I love.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_02: Well,
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_02: Mayor Potter,
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_02: I'd like to bring you into the conversation at this point,
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_02: because the last time or when the street was renamed to Cesar Chavez,
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_02: at least when the conversation started,
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_02: you were the mayor in Portland.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_02: So tell us a little bit about how that got started.
• 12:13
  And we did already reference that Portland has been through a
• 12:16
  renaming process before.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_02: In fact,
• 12:19
  the renaming of Union to MLK was a very big deal in this
• 12:25
  community in the late 80s,
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_02: early 90s.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_02: Went all the way up to the Oregon Supreme Court and came back down.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_02: So you must have had an inkling that...
• 12:36
  undertaking to rename the street to Cesar Chavez might be a big
• 12:41
  deal,
• 12:41
  but what was happening?
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_02: How did you approach that, and what were you thinking?
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_01: Well,
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_01: as mayor,
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_01: Marta and a group of people came to talk to me about renaming A Street,
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_01: and there really hadn't been a decision as to which street it would be,
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_01: and that later on became quite a topic and a subject all of its own.
• 13:05
  When they first came to me I thought back to Martin Luther King
• 13:10
  Boulevard and I
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_01: thought well of course this is a community hero.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_01: This is somebody who has done things that needed to be done in terms of
• 13:21
  Bringing people out into the light and showing the country that
• 13:25
  there are people
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_01: who,
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_01: except for those workers,
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_01: wouldn't have food on their table,
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_01: wouldn't be able to function in many ways in our society.
• 13:37
  And so listening to Marta and the others talk,
• 13:40
  I thought,
• 13:40
  well,
• 13:40
  of course,
• 13:42
  this makes sense.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_01: similar to other renaming projects.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_01: And there haven't really been a lot.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_01: Literally,
• 13:49
  it's been a handful other than people who helped start this
• 13:54
  town and get downtown
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_01: streets named after them.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_02: Like famous characters from The Simpsons, I believe.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_01: And some of those folks weren't exactly all on the up and up.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_01: But we left the signs up anyway.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_01: But as it unfolded,
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_01: I brought the issue to the other city commissioners.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_01: The mayor is a city commissioner in addition to being the mayor.
• 14:19
  And started discussing the subject and telling them that I
• 14:25
  supported the renaming
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_01: and that we really hadn't picked the location yet.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_01: And so I talked to them and they were all supportive of the idea that
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_01: Mike Schmidtshowpdx
• 14:54
  They'll see Cesar Chavez's name on a post and remember maybe
• 15:01
  some of the things that he did.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_01: It was after a little bit of intelligent thought.
• 15:07
  It was determined that Fourth Avenue runs into the Chinese town
• 15:13
  of Northwest Portland.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_01: Sure, sure.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_01: And that was enough to say no.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_01: We can't do that.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_01: But that conversation continued on.
• 15:29
  And one of the agreements that was made by the entire city
• 15:33
  council is that we would
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_01: work with this group that had been set up,
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_01: MARTA being one of the key people,
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_01: and work with them to find a location.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_01: Because as you know, when streets are renamed,
• 15:48
  People get upset because now they have to have new letterheads,
• 15:53
  business stationeries.
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_01: There's a lot of reasons.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_01: But when you look at the 3200 streets in Portland,
• 16:04
  it looked like people overcame those concerns and went ahead
• 16:08
  with the names.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_02: Marta, I want to bring you in here.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_02: You know,
• 16:12
  Tom is telling us about what it was like to be approached by
• 16:15
  you and to start
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_02: having the conversations with his fellow commissioners.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_02: Why was this important to the community to bring this up?
• 16:24
  And what was it like on your side to lobby the mayor and the
• 16:28
  commissioners to say,
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_02: hey,
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_02: this is important?
• 16:31
  I just want to mention that I there already was a committee
• 16:36
  when I came to
• 16:38
  to enjoy the committee that says Chavez and I want to honor my
• 16:42
  co-chair Jose Romero
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_00: and then other key people like Sonny Montes,
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_00: Carmen Rubio and Armando and Sonny and Maria and many,
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_00: many,
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_00: many more that I,
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_00: but I want to honor that.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_00: So I, they already have met, I think twice when I was invited.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, I see what happened.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_02: You weren't at the original meeting, so they made you the chair.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_00: The co-chair, the co-chair, the co-chair.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, I thought I was going to do something fun.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_00: I had something tragic that I had happen in my family.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_00: And then, you know, I went through a process of grieving.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_00: And then I go, OK, I'm ready to do something that I believe.
• 17:23
  And I literally believe it was something good that it was going
• 17:27
  to go smooth.
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_00: And how can anybody will be against this?
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_00: Like, yeah, like, hello.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_02: Not so much.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_00: It's like that was showtime afterwards, right?
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_00: So anyway,
• 17:38
  so that's when I and then I remember going in to the meeting
• 17:42
  and approaching,
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_00: our dear mayor,
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_00: Tom Potter.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_00: And like I said earlier, he was a very, very key person.
• 17:55
  I do believe that we would have not had the street without his
• 18:00
  help and support.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_00: I need to say that.
• 18:04
  And that importance to have for us at the street redeeming,
• 18:12
  it was to have and feel a belonging
• 18:17
  and the city to have something like,
• 18:19
  ah,
• 18:19
  Cesar Chavez is a Latino name,
• 18:21
  right?
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_00: But at the same time, he was well known and respected.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_00: We didn't know.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, if I would have known, there's no way.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_00: All of us in our committee would have not been part of it.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_00: But at that time,
• 18:34
  we believed something differently and we did the right thing at
• 18:38
  that time,
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_00: but we needed it.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_00: But I wanted to add that they also, when we...
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_00: Mike Schmidt schmidtshowpdx
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_02: Well,
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_02: so I imagine we,
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_02: as the mayor was alluding to,
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_02: we're starting to figure out what street might be the appropriate street.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_02: There's a process for doing this, renaming a street.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_02: There's an official process and a thing you have to follow and do.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_02: So is that what was beginning to take place?
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you know, there are rules about who can be named.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_01: And often it evolved around people who had passed already.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_01: And so that that was part of the consideration.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_01: So there'd have to be an exception that this was not, he had not passed.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_01: And so that was one of the issues when he
• 20:01
  Chavez name came to the fore and um that was I think quickly
• 20:08
  dealt with I think the
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_01: city council to a person really um
• 20:15
  liked the idea,
• 20:17
  but they actually liked their ideas better than the committee's
• 20:22
  ideas.
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_01: And that's where some of the conflict arose,
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_01: is that they would come in,
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_01: they being council members,
• 20:33
  and even though they'd agreed they would be listening and
• 20:36
  working with the
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_01: community,
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_01: I could see that it became very personal for them,
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_01: and they wanted to make sure that
• 20:45
  their name would be associated with however the naming process
• 20:49
  came about.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_01: So it was very interesting listening to the discussion.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_01: And the various streets,
• 21:00
  only one commissioner thought it was a good idea when the issue
• 21:04
  of 39 came up.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_01: The rest of them...
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_01: No, let's look at another one.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_01: Let's look at another street and see what we can do here.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_01: They wanted to help these poor people, but you got to listen to reason.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, but 39, that's an important street.
• 21:22
  That's an important street and it's a long street and it's a
• 21:26
  thoroughfare and it
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_01: goes from one end of the city to the other.
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_01: And so it was something that
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_01: I think it you know they also looked at Interstate Avenue oh sure okay
• 21:42
  And Interstate Avenue was one of the considerations that
• 21:48
  someone raised the issue
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_01: about Interstate Avenue is the road originally that connected Oregon and
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_01: Washington.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_01: And that's how the interstate part got its name.
• 22:01
  SPEAKER_01: That makes sense.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_01: If we took that down, people would be confused.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, how would they get to Washington?
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_01: And I thought, you know, someone is really stretching.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_01: I just drove over here.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_02: Now I'm lost.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I don't know where.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_01: And that kind of discussion is really.
• 22:21
  And,
• 22:21
  you know,
• 22:22
  we held meetings in the community and we did hold one for
• 22:25
  interstate.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 22:27
  That's when some of the racism started to really raise its head
• 22:33
  in terms of people
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_01: not wanting it named after a Latino.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_01: The words that were said at some of those public meetings,
• 22:44
  I was thoroughly disgusted with some of the people who came in
• 22:48
  from the outside and
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_01: were talking about why we shouldn't name after anybody that isn't white,
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_02: basically.
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_01: And that was, I just, I came away from that meeting.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_01: I was so disgusted.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_01: There were good people too, but the fact is that those other people
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_01: I mean,
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_01: this,
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_01: Marta,
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_01: as you said,
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_01: this was about feeling like you belonged in this community.
• 23:14
  Seeing somebody with a Latino name represented in a public way
• 23:17
  that you could look
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_02: at the road and say,
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_02: oh,
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_02: I feel comfortable here.
• 23:38
  But it sounds like the process itself brought out some negative
• 23:44
  elements.
• 23:44
  What was that like for you who you said you're like,
• 23:47
  oh,
• 23:47
  this will be easy.
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_02: Of course, everyone.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, Portland.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, this is not ancient history, right?
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_02: We're talking about 2007, 2008.
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_02: It was a very progressive, very liberal Portland.
• 23:58
  So this seems like almost a reality check to that racism is
• 24:03
  alive and well.
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, just like you say, a reality check for me.
• 24:09
  The way I see Portland is not the same way how I saw Portland
• 24:17
  from that time.
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_00: It changed me in so many ways.
• 24:27
  I have to say that when we started with Interstate,
• 24:31
  that was the first street
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_00: that we were asking to rename it.
• 24:36
  SPEAKER_00: And we went through all the process, all through it.
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_00: We got signatures.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_00: We did this.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_00: You do that.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_00: We did it.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_00: Forms here and that.
• 24:47
  And at the end of the day,
• 24:49
  we were told that we were going to get it in private meetings.
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_00: They lied to the mayor.
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_00: I believe we were betrayed by
• 25:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 25:02
  SPEAKER_00: By a commissioner.
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_00: Literally at the last minute,
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_00: that person have told us,
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_00: yes,
• 25:11
  SPEAKER_00: I'm going to vote for it for the interstate.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_00: And at the end, we didn't get it.
• 25:16
  SPEAKER_00: And that was for interstate.
• 25:19
  But talking about what we went through and let's name it,
• 25:23
  let's name it racism.
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_02: Yep.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_00: That's just...
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_00: playing and what it is.
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_00: And we saw that and it was very painful,
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_00: not only for me,
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_00: for my family,
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_00: for the community and for our community at large.
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_00: We were told that we needed it to do forms in the community.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_00: We did with follow up.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_00: And it was one that, well, one of many, but it was in September.
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_00: And of the year when we started in it was the Holland Kaiser,
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 26:07
  SPEAKER_00: it's a building that is by Kaiser Permanente Interstate.
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_00: That day.
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_00: This is very difficult, I have to tell.
• 26:17
  You know,
• 26:17
  it's like this is like trauma,
• 26:19
  talking about trauma,
• 26:20
  just like talking about it.
• 26:22
  And I didn't feel that we needed to talk,
• 26:24
  you know,
• 26:25
  to go through this again.
• 26:26
  SPEAKER_00: But that day we went.
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_00: It was packed.
• 26:29
  SPEAKER_00: I went with my co-chair and Sonny and others members because...
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_00: They wanted to ask us questions.
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_00: Why Cesar Chavez?
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_00: Why this?
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_00: Why that?
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_00: And we had all the answers and all that.
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_00: And then I brought my children.
• 26:44
  They were little at that time because I wanted them to learn
• 26:47
  what leadership,
• 26:49
  SPEAKER_00: why when you want something,
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_00: work for it.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_00: And that was like a good experience for them, I thought.
• 26:55
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, no.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_00: So they were there.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_00: They were little.
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_00: And...
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_00: We even didn't finish.
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_00: And people, like I said, it was packed.
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_00: People started screaming at us.
• 27:09
  SPEAKER_00: Like, fuck you.
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_00: Like, you know, like go back home, go back to Mexico.
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_00: Beaners.
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, all the things that you can imagine, we were tall at that time.
• 27:21
  I was like all the way on the back and I needed to walk through
• 27:23
  them with my children.
• 27:25
  And literally it was like,
• 27:27
  you know,
• 27:27
  like the rolls here,
• 27:28
  I was coming through it.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_00: And my children were crying and just afraid.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_00: And there was a fireman who there's a fire station somewhere in there.
• 27:41
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know if it's still there.
• 27:43
  He literally went and grabbed my kids' hands and me and he
• 27:48
  goes,
• 27:48
  I take you to your car.
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_00: That's how bad it was.
• 27:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_00: They're literally while I was walking,
• 27:57
  SPEAKER_00: they will scream at me like,
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_00: bitch,
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_00: like this and that with my kids because of the street.
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_00: So that's just only one example.
• 28:07
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_00: What we went through it.
• 28:10
  And I know that other committee members went through other
• 28:16
  difficulties and with the same pain.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_00: There was another at the Harvard Lodge Park.
• 28:25
  Another time it's like they're having the Harvard Lodge
• 28:29
  neighborhood thing.
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_00: And I go, oh, this is a good time to get signatures.
• 28:34
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, go talk to people.
• 28:35
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, exactly right.
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_00: Well, not right.
• 28:39
  So here I am very,
• 28:41
  I mean,
• 28:42
  innocently,
• 28:43
  I really just believe in good faith in people.
• 28:46
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, sure.
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_00: And so I went and I'm like,
• 28:49
  I'm going to get a lot of signatures because we needed a twenty
• 28:52
  five hundred
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_00: signatures to be able.
• 28:55
  SPEAKER_00: That was part of the process that they put us to go through it.
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_00: And it was a man who I go ahead, you know, can you sign?
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_00: And I explain it.
• 29:05
  SPEAKER_00: And he looked at me and he goes, you know what I'm going to do?
• 29:08
  SPEAKER_00: What I'm going to do,
• 29:08
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not going to sign,
• 29:09
  SPEAKER_00: but what I'm going to do,
• 29:10
  I'm going to go home and I'm going to get a pistol and I'm
• 29:13
  going to use it.
• 29:16
  SPEAKER_00: He literally told me that.
• 29:19
  SPEAKER_00: I went to a police officer because there was police there.
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_00: And I go, that guy just told me that.
• 29:32
  SPEAKER_00: And I fear of my life.
• 29:33
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, he threatened me.
• 29:34
  SPEAKER_00: And then, yes.
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_00: And then the police officer, you know, he goes, I'm Marta.
• 29:39
  SPEAKER_00: You're strong.
• 29:42
  SPEAKER_00: Look at him.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_00: It's an old man.
• 29:45
  SPEAKER_00: It's not going to do anything to you.
• 29:48
  SPEAKER_00: He literally say that.
• 29:50
  SPEAKER_00: And I go, what the fuck?
• 29:51
  SPEAKER_02: Right?
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you're strong.
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_00: And then I'm like, what?
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_02: Wow.
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_00: And I remembered, I think it was Maria Rubio who worked with the mayor.
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_00: And I told her about it.
• 30:10
  SPEAKER_00: I told my, and they spoke with a
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_00: with the officer.
• 30:15
  SPEAKER_00: That was a big assumption.
• 30:18
  So the police,
• 30:20
  the mayor,
• 30:22
  did a follow-up with that,
• 30:23
  and the police took care of that.
• 30:26
  SPEAKER_00: But that's just an example for the things that we went through.
• 30:32
  SPEAKER_00: And not only that, but...
• 30:36
  SPEAKER_00: But it was taking a toll in our personal lives.
• 30:41
  SPEAKER_00: Sure.
• 30:41
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, how can it not?
• 30:43
  SPEAKER_00: And to all of us.
• 30:44
  SPEAKER_02: And so here we are now in the committee.
• 30:50
  SPEAKER_02: Is there a committee reformed and back together again?
• 30:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 30:55
  SPEAKER_02: And you're hearing things like, oh, we have a process for that.
• 31:00
  SPEAKER_02: Let's just, oh, we'll go through a process.
• 31:03
  SPEAKER_02: I'm hearing from you.
• 31:06
  SPEAKER_02: that the process was very painful.
• 31:10
  SPEAKER_00: Yes,
• 31:11
  it was very painful for us and I understand that it also was
• 31:19
  painful for the Martin
• 31:20
  SPEAKER_00: Luther King movement because I need to acknowledge that.
• 31:26
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 31:27
  SPEAKER_00: For us, it was really, really that we have to go through it and
• 31:33
  However,
• 31:34
  they did name other streets that you blink and then the names
• 31:39
  were there.
• 31:40
  SPEAKER_00: Like there was no process.
• 31:42
  SPEAKER_02: That's interesting.
• 31:43
  SPEAKER_02: So, Mayor, this is where you're going to have to help us with the civics.
• 31:48
  SPEAKER_02: What Marta says rings true to me.
• 31:50
  SPEAKER_02: I'm positive that's accurate.
• 31:53
  It seems like sometimes there's a process and maybe sometimes
• 31:57
  decisions can be made.
• 31:59
  SPEAKER_02: So maybe help us with the civics lesson of this.
• 32:05
  SPEAKER_02: What can the city council do?
• 32:07
  Do we have to relive a painful process like Marta and everybody
• 32:12
  went through last time?
• 32:13
  SPEAKER_02: Or is there an alternative path?
• 32:16
  SPEAKER_01: Well, the answer is yes.
• 32:19
  SPEAKER_01: And yes to whatever you said, which you said several different things.
• 32:23
  SPEAKER_01: So depending upon who is on the council...
• 32:27
  SPEAKER_01: You know,
• 32:27
  we have a brand new council that did not have the experience of
• 32:30
  going through that
• 32:31
  SPEAKER_01: process.
• 32:32
  SPEAKER_01: So everybody now has not actually been part of the process.
• 32:39
  And when myself and the commissioners I worked with completed
• 32:48
  the process,
• 32:50
  SPEAKER_01: they felt pretty proud and pretty good that this had happened.
• 32:56
  And that even one of them was pleased that he lived on 39th
• 33:02
  Street and it would now
• 33:02
  SPEAKER_01: be called Cesar Chavez Boulevard.
• 33:04
  SPEAKER_01: And that left him with a very good feeling.
• 33:08
  SPEAKER_01: So there are procedures to go through, policies.
• 33:17
  SPEAKER_01: The one that said you can't name the street if the person is alive.
• 33:24
  SPEAKER_01: They've done that before.
• 33:27
  And most of the streets in downtown Portland are proof that
• 33:30
  that's been done.
• 33:31
  So,
• 33:32
  you know,
• 33:32
  the policies are only as good as your willingness to stick by
• 33:37
  the policies.
• 33:38
  SPEAKER_01: And if you've watched much council activity,
• 33:41
  SPEAKER_01: not just in Portland,
• 33:42
  SPEAKER_01: but around the country,
• 33:44
  SPEAKER_01: state legislatures,
• 33:47
  SPEAKER_01: is a pretty common theme.
• 33:50
  SPEAKER_01: If enough interest is built up in the community,
• 33:54
  SPEAKER_01: because they don't want to look bad,
• 33:55
  SPEAKER_01: they don't want to be
• 33:57
  SPEAKER_01: voted out.
• 33:59
  SPEAKER_01: So that is also a very important thing.
• 34:02
  SPEAKER_01: And I think by the time this decision came down,
• 34:06
  SPEAKER_01: there was really strong support in the community for this.
• 34:09
  SPEAKER_01: And people who may have felt had concerns,
• 34:15
  I think those concerns went away when they realized the
• 34:18
  importance of having a name
• 34:21
  SPEAKER_01: of an actual individual who has done things that at the time we thought
• 34:27
  SPEAKER_01: deserve that kind of credit.
• 34:29
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 34:29
  SPEAKER_02: So it sounds like it was a painful process.
• 34:35
  It brought out the worst in some people,
• 34:38
  but it got to the right result by the end.
• 34:44
  Fast forward to today,
• 34:46
  where now we are faced with the question,
• 34:49
  again,
• 34:50
  of renaming the street.
• 34:53
  What's your advice,
• 34:54
  Mayor,
• 34:55
  to our current council who is confronted with what to do?
• 34:59
  SPEAKER_02: You've lived through this once before.
• 35:01
  SPEAKER_02: You know what this was like.
• 35:03
  What advice do you have for them as they consider how they
• 35:07
  should navigate this?
• 35:09
  SPEAKER_01: I always tell people who are newly elected is listen to the community.
• 35:15
  Don't just go to your office,
• 35:16
  close the door,
• 35:18
  and make a decision behind that door.
• 35:21
  And in this particular instance,
• 35:23
  there was a committee formed that did represent the community.
• 35:28
  SPEAKER_01: And that that committee,
• 35:29
  SPEAKER_01: I thought,
• 35:31
  did a very intelligent thing to name it after the people who
• 35:36
  actually are part of
• 35:39
  SPEAKER_01: the process,
• 35:40
  SPEAKER_01: the farm workers,
• 35:42
  SPEAKER_01: campesinos,
• 35:43
  SPEAKER_01: those folks.
• 35:46
  I'm hard pressed to remember anything in Portland that we have
• 35:51
  a street named after
• 35:52
  SPEAKER_01: some group like that.
• 35:54
  Maybe there is,
• 35:55
  but another 3,200 just glancing over the list,
• 35:59
  I didn't see any.
• 36:00
  SPEAKER_01: So that's an important part of all of this.
• 36:04
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 36:05
  SPEAKER_02: Marta, talk to us about that.
• 36:06
  SPEAKER_02: So the mayor, he beat me to the punchline.
• 36:10
  SPEAKER_02: There is a new name that is being considered.
• 36:13
  SPEAKER_02: What is it?
• 36:14
  SPEAKER_00: Campesinos Boulevard.
• 36:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 36:16
  When I first heard that,
• 36:17
  just like the mayor said,
• 36:18
  I said,
• 36:18
  that's brilliant.
• 36:19
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 36:20
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you.
• 36:21
  SPEAKER_02: Tell us, how did you arrive at Campesinos Boulevard?
• 36:26
  Well,
• 36:26
  you know,
• 36:27
  let's remember that what Cesar Chavez,
• 36:30
  Dolores Huerta,
• 36:31
  and many,
• 36:32
  many more.
• 36:34
  SPEAKER_00: I forgot right now, there's a Filipino leader that was part of them.
• 36:38
  SPEAKER_00: And that was the movement, right?
• 36:42
  SPEAKER_00: And the movement was because of the Campesinos.
• 36:46
  SPEAKER_00: That's the movement, the campesinos.
• 36:48
  Without the campesinos,
• 36:49
  it would have not been that movement that they were leading.
• 36:53
  SPEAKER_00: So why not just celebrating campesinos?
• 37:00
  SPEAKER_00: You know, every time that we eat, where did the food is cultivated?
• 37:05
  SPEAKER_00: From who?
• 37:06
  SPEAKER_00: It's the campesinos.
• 37:07
  You know,
• 37:08
  farm workers for the people that don't know what campesinos
• 37:10
  means.
• 37:12
  SPEAKER_00: So anyway...
• 37:16
  SPEAKER_00: And the process,
• 37:20
  SPEAKER_00: and I just wanted,
• 37:21
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 37:21
  SPEAKER_00: about the campesinos,
• 37:22
  SPEAKER_00: but I wanted it to just go back a little bit about that.
• 37:26
  SPEAKER_00: We went through twice with the process, not only once.
• 37:30
  SPEAKER_00: So,
• 37:30
  SPEAKER_00: and I want to,
• 37:32
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 37:32
  make sure that people who are listening that we went through
• 37:35
  through process first
• 37:37
  SPEAKER_00: with interstate,
• 37:38
  SPEAKER_00: then it was decline.
• 37:40
  SPEAKER_00: And then we have, we took like a little break of that.
• 37:43
  SPEAKER_00: And then we went again.
• 37:45
  to introduce that,
• 37:47
  you know,
• 37:47
  okay,
• 37:47
  that was,
• 37:48
  we're going to go through it again.
• 37:49
  SPEAKER_00: And we went through it twice.
• 37:51
  SPEAKER_00: So I just want to acknowledge that.
• 37:54
  And it was a little bit more than three years that we went
• 38:01
  through very,
• 38:02
  very painful time.
• 38:03
  SPEAKER_00: But I just didn't want to- Yeah, thank you.
• 38:05
  SPEAKER_02: Because it really kicked off in 2007.
• 38:07
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 38:07
  SPEAKER_02: And was the unveiling in 2010.
• 38:08
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 38:08
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 38:09
  SPEAKER_02: So as we are-
• 38:15
  SPEAKER_02: In this moment, thinking about how to move forward.
• 38:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 38:20
  SPEAKER_02: The team is back together.
• 38:21
  SPEAKER_00: So, yeah.
• 38:22
  SPEAKER_00: Well, so what happened?
• 38:24
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 38:24
  SPEAKER_00: So you get in context because it's just barely this.
• 38:28
  SPEAKER_00: It just happened a month and a half ago.
• 38:30
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 38:31
  SPEAKER_00: And it's very fast.
• 38:32
  SPEAKER_00: That was not our idea to come up like very fast.
• 38:36
  SPEAKER_00: We are from a culture that we, you know, we do a lot of healing.
• 38:41
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 38:42
  SPEAKER_00: Or at least I do.
• 38:43
  SPEAKER_00: I should not talk for everybody.
• 38:44
  SPEAKER_00: But, you know, we're very ceremonial.
• 38:46
  SPEAKER_00: We are very close to ancestors.
• 38:48
  SPEAKER_00: We respect our elders.
• 38:50
  SPEAKER_00: We need that time.
• 38:52
  SPEAKER_00: But because some people, you know, maybe some names and this and that.
• 39:00
  And then we saw the urgency that this process needed to be led
• 39:05
  by community
• 39:06
  SPEAKER_00: members,
• 39:07
  SPEAKER_00: not by any political person.
• 39:09
  SPEAKER_00: Period.
• 39:10
  SPEAKER_00: Period.
• 39:11
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 39:11
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that that needs to be respected.
• 39:15
  SPEAKER_00: So right away,
• 39:16
  we were very hurt and that we didn't really have the time to
• 39:28
  take our time and
• 39:29
  SPEAKER_00: breathe out.
• 39:30
  SPEAKER_00: And through all this,
• 39:32
  but we knew that that importance and this matters and we want
• 39:36
  to do the right
• 39:37
  SPEAKER_00: thing.
• 39:38
  SPEAKER_00: And that's why we even with our pain,
• 39:40
  SPEAKER_00: with our tears,
• 39:43
  SPEAKER_00: we just have to,
• 39:44
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 39:44
  SPEAKER_00: we got together.
• 39:46
  SPEAKER_00: We started strategizing.
• 39:49
  SPEAKER_00: We met with the mayor.
• 39:52
  SPEAKER_00: And we want the counselors to support that.
• 39:58
  SPEAKER_00: I already made phone calls.
• 39:59
  SPEAKER_00: I spoke with some of them.
• 40:00
  SPEAKER_00: I met with some of them.
• 40:02
  SPEAKER_00: And I believe, I do believe that they know what's the right thing.
• 40:09
  And the right thing that we are asking it is to expertise the
• 40:13
  process and to name it Campesinos.
• 40:17
  SPEAKER_00: Because that's the right thing to do.
• 40:19
  SPEAKER_00: We are not looking, we were not looking to change the street.
• 40:23
  SPEAKER_00: This is something that we did not expect it.
• 40:28
  SPEAKER_00: So we believe and we want to honor the campesinos,
• 40:31
  SPEAKER_00: but we also want to acknowledge all the women who got raped.
• 40:36
  SPEAKER_00: and children that it got broom.
• 40:38
  SPEAKER_00: That's not okay.
• 40:38
  SPEAKER_00: That's not acceptable.
• 40:40
  And we are the Latinos who have to take the first change and be
• 40:45
  an example for
• 40:46
  SPEAKER_00: other names of other things that maybe in the future need to be changed.
• 40:53
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 40:54
  SPEAKER_01: You know,
• 40:55
  SPEAKER_01: I'm going to ask Marta,
• 40:57
  SPEAKER_01: is there any other place in the United States where Campesinos was used?
• 41:01
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I Google it and I could not find it, but I don't know.
• 41:05
  SPEAKER_00: And if it's not,
• 41:06
  SPEAKER_00: I will be like super happy because then Portland,
• 41:09
  SPEAKER_00: it will be just that great city that really honors campesinos.
• 41:14
  SPEAKER_02: I love this.
• 41:15
  SPEAKER_02: The former mayor is coming for my job.
• 41:16
  SPEAKER_02: He's taking over the interview.
• 41:19
  SPEAKER_02: I appreciate that.
• 41:21
  SPEAKER_02: Mayor...
• 41:23
  You've heard the community,
• 41:25
  and it sounds like the community's having conversations.
• 41:28
  SPEAKER_02: Your advice to counselors is listen to the community.
• 41:32
  SPEAKER_02: How should they move forward right now?
• 41:35
  I can see,
• 41:36
  you can see,
• 41:36
  we all can see Marta's passion and how important this is.
• 41:42
  SPEAKER_02: What's your message to city council?
• 41:45
  SPEAKER_01: There's a sense of urgency.
• 41:47
  SPEAKER_01: People want
• 41:49
  Chavez name taken down period right now sort of thing and so
• 41:55
  you don't leave a
• 41:56
  street called blank street you have to have a name and some
• 42:02
  folks say well why
• 42:03
  don't you go back to 39th like it always was which some of the
• 42:07
  people then you know
• 42:09
  when we initially they talked about 39th said people would get
• 42:13
  confused if they got
• 42:14
  SPEAKER_01: to 38th
• 42:16
  SPEAKER_01: Oh.
• 42:17
  SPEAKER_01: And a stranger and then going to the next street and it's not 39th.
• 42:20
  SPEAKER_01: What would they do?
• 42:21
  SPEAKER_01: They just stop.
• 42:22
  SPEAKER_01: And I thought, come on now.
• 42:24
  SPEAKER_01: Give those people you're using as examples a little bit of credit.
• 42:29
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 42:30
  SPEAKER_01: But the fact is that it is ultimately the community.
• 42:36
  SPEAKER_01: And the community, I think, is well represented with this group.
• 42:43
  SPEAKER_01: When I heard it the very second, I thought, what a brilliant idea.
• 42:49
  SPEAKER_01: We need to do this in other areas as well.
• 42:52
  SPEAKER_01: Instead of taking the leader,
• 42:55
  Take the people who actually built the leader and the
• 42:59
  leadership and the issue.
• 43:01
  SPEAKER_01: And I think there's a lot of talk right now,
• 43:03
  SPEAKER_01: particularly at a national level,
• 43:05
  SPEAKER_01: about what do we do with all these people that are living in our country?
• 43:11
  Well,
• 43:11
  I'm sure the Native American community asked the same question
• 43:15
  several hundred years ago.
• 43:16
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, they did.
• 43:17
  SPEAKER_01: Because anybody that came here after that,
• 43:22
  SPEAKER_01: We were all newbies.
• 43:24
  We were all people who,
• 43:26
  for the first time,
• 43:27
  were really starting a new life.
• 43:32
  SPEAKER_01: And so this is, to me, really a simple equation.
• 43:38
  SPEAKER_01: And the equation is, who do we side with?
• 43:41
  SPEAKER_01: How do we ensure that
• 43:45
  This particular process is going to actually create something
• 43:51
  that's very unique.
• 43:52
  SPEAKER_01: And from what I know,
• 43:53
  there's no other city in the United States that has actually
• 43:57
  done something like
• 43:57
  SPEAKER_01: this.
• 43:58
  SPEAKER_01: And so I think not only would it set us apart,
• 44:02
  but I think it would also demonstrate that we still have people
• 44:06
  in our community
• 44:06
  SPEAKER_01: that care about
• 44:09
  The folks who are doing the hard labor jobs and are willing to
• 44:14
  give up their time
• 44:15
  in their home countries to come here and work so that they can
• 44:18
  have a better life
• 44:19
  SPEAKER_01: and their families can.
• 44:21
  SPEAKER_01: This is all about having a better life.
• 44:24
  SPEAKER_01: And I think to honor those people,
• 44:26
  SPEAKER_01: we will see other cities soon doing something very similar,
• 44:30
  SPEAKER_01: maybe on different folks,
• 44:31
  SPEAKER_01: but very similar.
• 44:32
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm very pleased.
• 44:35
  I'm very proud of our Latino community and what they have done
• 44:42
  to recover from
• 44:43
  SPEAKER_01: this,
• 44:43
  SPEAKER_01: knowing that they didn't have a lot of time for the grieving process.
• 44:46
  They didn't have a lot of time of working things through and
• 44:49
  why this and why that.
• 44:52
  This is a step forward that I think is even a bigger step than
• 44:57
  the original naming.
• 45:00
  SPEAKER_01: And so this not only puts Portland on a map,
• 45:04
  but I think I hope it demonstrates that we still have a lot of
• 45:07
  good people who
• 45:08
  SPEAKER_01: believe in the basic goodness and kindness of other people.
• 45:13
  SPEAKER_02: Martha,
• 45:14
  SPEAKER_02: I'm going to give you the last word for for Portlanders listening,
• 45:18
  SPEAKER_02: elected leaders listening.
• 45:21
  SPEAKER_02: Journalists listening.
• 45:22
  I get text messages from all of them,
• 45:23
  so I know they're going to be listening.
• 45:26
  What's your message to maybe somebody who's thinking about this
• 45:31
  for the first time
• 45:32
  SPEAKER_02: or they're not sure how they feel?
• 45:36
  SPEAKER_02: What's your message?
• 45:36
  You know,
• 45:37
  I do understand that a lot of people will feel unhappy about
• 45:42
  it.
• 45:43
  SPEAKER_00: I do understand.
• 45:47
  And I will tell Polanders to talk to us,
• 45:52
  not in a forum,
• 45:54
  not in a big meeting.
• 45:55
  SPEAKER_00: I will not do that.
• 45:57
  SPEAKER_00: I think when they say,
• 45:59
  SPEAKER_00: if you don't learn the first time,
• 46:01
  SPEAKER_00: you learn,
• 46:01
  SPEAKER_00: but the second time is your fault.
• 46:04
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know how they're saying it's in English.
• 46:05
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, fool me once.
• 46:08
  SPEAKER_00: But not try something like that.
• 46:10
  SPEAKER_00: So I will not expose.
• 46:11
  SPEAKER_00: But if somebody wants to talk to me just one-on-one directly by phone,
• 46:17
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's fine.
• 46:18
  So we can explain the history or read,
• 46:21
  you know,
• 46:21
  read before and then ask questions.
• 46:23
  SPEAKER_00: We're open to that.
• 46:25
  SPEAKER_00: But we definitely we are here to rename the street campesinos.
• 46:31
  SPEAKER_00: It's not a thing of compromising.
• 46:33
  SPEAKER_00: It's I think that is the right thing.
• 46:38
  SPEAKER_00: And I do believe that counselors are going to do it.
• 46:43
  SPEAKER_00: I agree with Mayor Tom Potter that there is a lot of good people.
• 46:49
  SPEAKER_00: And we have great support from the community already.
• 46:52
  SPEAKER_00: We have Pecón supporting us.
• 46:54
  SPEAKER_00: We have the Latino Network, Centro Cultural.
• 46:57
  SPEAKER_00: We have NAYA.
• 46:59
  SPEAKER_00: We have the NWACP.
• 47:02
  SPEAKER_00: So we have all those endorsements for a letter of support.
• 47:06
  I was told to let you know you should add the Urban League of
• 47:08
  Portland to that list.
• 47:10
  SPEAKER_00: Well, so because you work there, I believe, right?
• 47:13
  SPEAKER_00: So can I add it to that?
• 47:14
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much.
• 47:15
  SPEAKER_00: I need that in writing, please.
• 47:17
  SPEAKER_02: A recorded podcast is not enough.
• 47:24
  SPEAKER_02: That's okay.
• 47:25
  SPEAKER_02: I've got it for you in writing.
• 47:26
  SPEAKER_00: Please don't delete that.
• 47:27
  SPEAKER_02: I've got it for you in writing.
• 47:30
  SPEAKER_02: Well,
• 47:31
  one of the things that I so appreciated about this conversation
• 47:34
  and why I thought
• 47:35
  SPEAKER_02: it was so important is when it was first brought up to me,
• 47:40
  SPEAKER_02: I didn't know all the history.
• 47:41
  SPEAKER_02: I didn't know.
• 47:42
  SPEAKER_02: I knew that we renamed streets.
• 47:45
  SPEAKER_02: I had heard, oh, the MLK to Union.
• 47:48
  SPEAKER_02: That was messy, but I didn't really know the history.
• 47:51
  SPEAKER_02: I didn't know about the history that you went through.
• 47:54
  SPEAKER_02: Both of you lived through the first time this street was renamed.
• 47:58
  And I think it's so important to understand our past as we are
• 48:03
  making decisions today.
• 48:05
  SPEAKER_02: We don't have to repeat mistakes that we've made in the past.
• 48:10
  And how meaningful this is and how quickly the community has
• 48:17
  responded and is
• 48:20
  SPEAKER_02: moving to,
• 48:21
  SPEAKER_02: I imagine this is part of a healing process.
• 48:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yes and no in a way.
• 48:29
  SPEAKER_00: It will be the healing when we get it and we celebrate it.
• 48:35
  SPEAKER_02: I know neither of you anticipated being at another unveiling ceremony,
• 48:40
  SPEAKER_02: but I want to be there with you when we unveil it.
• 48:44
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you.
• 48:45
  SPEAKER_00: I just have to say that for a lot of us in
• 48:48
  And our community are going through these interviews or
• 48:53
  whatever we need to do for follow up.
• 48:55
  SPEAKER_00: It brings a lot of bad memories and very hard pain.
• 48:59
  SPEAKER_00: So this process is not this new one process.
• 49:02
  SPEAKER_00: It's different, but it doesn't mean that it's easier.
• 49:05
  SPEAKER_00: It's just different.
• 49:07
  SPEAKER_00: But again, what I believe it is that Portlanders, we have great support.
• 49:14
  SPEAKER_00: And I believe the city council and the mayor, we have great support.
• 49:18
  SPEAKER_00: And I want to thank also our committee,
• 49:23
  SPEAKER_00: Por La Causa,
• 49:24
  SPEAKER_00: that we all together are doing an amazing job.
• 49:28
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you both for being here.
• 49:30
  SPEAKER_02: Our pleasure.
• 49:30
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you.
• 49:40
  SPEAKER_02: That's our story for today.
• 49:42
  SPEAKER_02: My deepest thanks to Marta Wembes and former Portland Mayor Tom Potter.
• 49:46
  This conversation was a labor of love for a community that is
• 49:49
  still healing and the
• 49:50
  willingness to show up and share that was a gift with us and I
• 49:53
  don't take it
• 49:54
  SPEAKER_02: lightly.
• 49:55
  SPEAKER_02: If today's story moved you, do something with that feeling.
• 49:58
  SPEAKER_02: Support Campesinos Boulevard.
• 50:00
  SPEAKER_02: Call your city council representatives.
• 50:02
  SPEAKER_02: Call the mayor's office.
• 50:03
  SPEAKER_02: Let them know you want a swift, dignified resolution.
• 50:06
  One that honors the community that has already waited long
• 50:09
  enough and fought hard
• 50:10
  SPEAKER_02: enough for this city to see them.
• 50:12
  SPEAKER_02: And if you want to stay close to stories like this one,
• 50:14
  SPEAKER_02: follow the show,
• 50:15
  SPEAKER_02: subscribe on Substack,
• 50:16
  SPEAKER_02: leave a comment,
• 50:17
  SPEAKER_02: tell someone else.
• 50:18
  This kind of storytelling only reaches as far as the people
• 50:20
  willing to pass it along.
• 50:22
  SPEAKER_02: As always, thank you for listening.
• 50:24
  SPEAKER_02: And until next time, keep showing up for Portland.