Political Quotes

“I rise today in asking my colleagues to join me in this legislation to designate the facility of the postal service on Northeast Killingsworth in Portland as the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Post Office. Dr. King, as a powerful symbol of racial justice and social equality in our country, is a fitting designation for this facility. I have had some experience in the community dealing with recognition for Dr. King. Some 20 years ago as Portland's Commissioner of Public Works that I worked with the community, notably of my friend Bernie Foster, the publisher of The Scanner newspaper, and others, to designate Union Avenue after Dr. King. It was an eye opening experience for me, a reminder of the troubled racial past of our community and our State. While Oregon has a rich cultural heritage for black Americans, it had a rocky path towards racial equality. While slavery was declared illegal early in Oregon's history, in 1848, the provisional government had exclusionary laws surrounding land ownership. And when Oregon was admitted to the Constitution, it had exclusionary laws then. It was only after a long and aggressive struggle that progress was made.”