Read it all here. Or you can go to his original piece written for the Victoria Taft Show blog here.
Here’s the meat of it:
I’m appalled and pained at the exploitation of that good man’s name and life in the renaming of 39th Avenue in Portland. The move’s self-described Latino advocates and members of the City Council have redefined him in death to be what he never was in life. It’s shameful, self-serving exploitation.
The council did this despite the almost universal opposition of the affected residents and businesses, whose good-faith objections were disregarded, as were proffered alternative ways to honor Chavez.
Instead, the council kowtowed to a self-righteous group whose members defined themselves as representing the Latino community and who manifested their bad faith by refusing to meet with representatives of the affected communities at any time in the process and who refused to consider any alternative to their demand.
It’s ironic that Chavez spent his life fighting exploitation, and now, in death, his name and his achievements are co-opted by a group that has made no secret that its intent is to use Chavez to honor itself.
