Portland has a long and interesting bicycling history — from the ‘1896 Cyclists Road Map‘ printed long before cars were sold, to elected officials who biked to City Hall long before the term “bike friendly city” existed and the modern, massive group rides that grab global attention. I’ve shared that history on BikePortland over the years. And now, a recent photo shared by City of Portland archivists on the Vintage Portland blog, have spurred yet another foray into our pedaling past.

Titled, “Neighborhood Bike Ride, 1971,” the black and white image is encircled in the front wheel of an illustration of a penny farthing bicycle. We know from the blog post that the image came from the 1971 Parks Annual Report. The image shows dozens of people on bicycles in a clearly happy mood, rolling down a wet street and wearing heavy jackets. Despite the clearly cold and wet weather, smiles permeate the scene.

What was going on 55 years ago that would get this many regular folks (as opposed to racers or an organized parade or political event) on bikes? It was the oldest photo of a large group bike ride I could ever recall seeing.

Thanks to online commenters, we know these folks are on Northeast Broadway between 6th and 7th and that it was part of a group bike ride that happened in early March, 1971. After learning that, all it took was a search of The Oregonian archives to find out more about the ride.

“Portland’s first crosstown bike ride, sponsored by the Bicycle Lobby and the Parks Bureau, attracted 1,262 bicycle enthusiasts,” reads the story, which was published on March 8th, 1971. The group rode in a loop from the Portland Art Museum to the Lloyd Center and back. According to the report, the riders showed up in “heavy rain showers” and “gusty winds” to advocate for, “increased use of bicycles in place of cars.”

The ‘Bicycle Lobby’ was a group of volunteers led by Sam Oakland, a Portland State University professor who organized bike advocates and played a key role in the landmark “Bike Bill” passed by the Oregon Legislature in 1971. That law is widely considered the first “complete streets” law in the country because it mandated that a minimum of 1% of all state transportation funding be spent on bicycling and walking facilities. Oakland received a lifetime achievement award from The Street Trust (then called the Bicycle Transportation Alliance) in 2011 and died in 2014.

On that wet Sunday in 1971, Oakland had Portland City Commissioner Neil Goldschmidt riding along with him. Oakland and his fellow advocates were working with Goldschmidt to build support for an event that following April that would close a portion of downtown to car use. This campaign for carfree space by the Bicycle Lobby likely had a big impact on the City’s 1972 Downtown Plan. As BikePortland shared a few years ago, that plan, proposed 13 carfree sites across downtown where people could ‘talk, play, look, think and enjoy’ the city without the noise, dirty air, and other dangers associated with cars.

Oakland not only had a champion on City Council, according to The Oregonian, the carfree downtown event also had the support of Chamber of Commerce and the Retail Merchants Association.

As we fight against the scourge of cars today and for more space to safely exist in our city, I find it extremely inspiring and comforting that folks like Sam Oakland and these 1,262 people also fought for these same things.

— Learn more about Portland’s fight for carfree spaces downtown,

On April 16th at the Hollywood Theater, a film shot entirely in Portland and with a bicycle as a central character, will have its Oregon premiere. A Simple Machine is more than just a film, it’s a deeply Portland project that brings our beautiful city and the humble bicycle to the big screen while presenting important and relevant themes that many of us can relate to.

On Tuesday, I had the pleasure of sitting down in The Shed with Evan P. Schneider, who wrote the book, A Simple Machine, Like the Lever, (Propeller Books) that inspired the film; and Mark Alan Hoffman, the film’s creator and director. We talked about the creative process, the film’s deeper meanings, how Evan’s story from 2011 still resonates in 2026, and much more. Evan even read a few passages from the book!

Pull up a chair or turn up the volume and join us for a chat in the Shed.

Learn more about the film on the official website.

Available now on YouTube and (probably later today) wherever you get your podcasts.

— This post was written by Strong Towns PDX.

Portland has long been a leader in encouraging more density and better land use through repealing parking minimums, allowing plexes on most single-family zoned lots, and adopting single-stair reforms. All of these reforms allow for more units on the same land, which allows Portland to welcome more neighbors at all wages, ages, and stages of life.

The proposed Transportation Utility Fee (TUF) of $12 per month for single-family lots, and $8.50 per month for apartment dwellers means apartment dwellers will pay 600% more on a per-acre basis than homeowners on R10-zoned lots (93% of the parcels in Northwest Heights and 81% of the parcels in Arnold Creek), and 300% compared to those on R5-zoned lots (99% of the parcels in Sabin and 97% of the parcels in Alameda), which becomes apparent when examining the fee on a per-acre basis (see chart below).

Considering apartment dwellers are also more likely to ride transit, walk, and ride a bike to meet their daily needs, leading to even less road maintenance costs, the current TUF proposal is even more regressive than has been acknowledged.

The Quick Fix

We propose scaling the Residential component (70%) of the $46 million in TUF funds based on acreage of the parcel that the dwelling occupies (see orange bars). This “Use-Based Fee” incentivizes living in an apartment or plex. This is supported by Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), as street maintenance also scales based on the size of parcels (see: Transportation Utility Fees).

We estimate to obtain a revenue-neutral $32.2 million, the City could charge:

1. $2/month per-door fee, regardless of parcel size
2. $0.20/month per 100 square-feet of parcel size

For example:

• An apartment dweller in a 20 unit building on a 5,000 sqft lot would pay $2.50/mo ($2 base fee + ($0.20 * (5000 / 100)) / 20 units), rather than $8.50/mo.
• A household on a 5,000 sqft lot would pay $12/mo, the same as under the proposed TUF.
• A household on a 10,000 sqft lot would pay $22/mo ($2 base fee + ($0.20 * (10,000 / 100))), which better approximates the additional cost of serving larger lots.

A Use-Based TUF is much less regressive on a per-acre basis, costing both apartment dwellers and homeowners on smaller lots less than the proposed fee schedule . Larger lots, while paying somewhat more, still pay less on a per-acre basis.

Contact City Council

If you want a fairer Transportation Utility Fee for Portlanders, email your City Council via the Strong Towns PDX website.

Welcome to the week.

Below are the most notable stories that came across my inbox in the past seven days…

It’s spreading: The urge by lawmakers to paint with a far too broad of a brush when it comes to young people and electric-assisted bicycles and e-motorcycles has spread to Australia, where families say harsh new laws will make school trips harder and advocates say their input was not heeded. (Australian Broadcasting Company)

The real war on cars: I am in love with the framing of this piece that explains how the infamously anti-bike, pro-car policies of Ontario Premier Doug Ford have made life so much worse for people who rely on cars. (TVO Today)

Seattle’s big weekend: I learned with envy about the opening of a major new light rail line in Seattle over the weekend. If you want to understand the policy and politics behind how they were able to make it happen, read this. (Seattle Times)

Novick and the Blazers: Councilor Steve Novick is taking a very strong stand against using taxpayer dollars to fund the business of the billionaire who owns the Portland Trail Blazers, and he’s making it clear that Clean Energy Fund dollars would be much better spent on bicycling than basketball. (Willamette Week)

Speaking of the Blazers: Maybe I was the last to know, but new Blazers owner Tom Dundon not only made his billions by pushing sketchy car loans on people who couldn’t afford them, but he was actually sued by the State of Oregon for doing it! (ProPublica)

Third spaces rule: This article argues that excellent public spaces, sometimes called “third spaces” because they give people a place to connect that isn’t home or work, are an effective way to combat extremism. (Guardian)

Choosing the carfree life: This powerful and inspirational essay comes from a woman who has learned to fully embrace her life without driving, not because of what it has made her give up, but because of how it has added richness and beauty to her everday existence. (Irish Times)

Who’s the real criminal? A man who painted stop signs and crosswalks near a park in his neighborhood in southern Los Angeles was arrested for taking traffic planning into his own hands. (LA Times)

Made in the USA: A company making children’s bike in a factory in Indiana has found success, but to do even better they want the Trump Administration to enact tougher tariffs on companies that import bikes from overseas. (NPR)

Thanks to everyone who sent in links this week. The Monday Roundup is a community effort, so please feel free to send us any great stories you come across.

Tis the season to consider summer camps for the little ones in your life. And since we live in a cycling-soaked region, bike summer camps are relatively commonplace. But you can’t sign up for something you don’t know about! That’s where this little roundup comes in. If you’re interested in finding a cycling summer camp, consider the options below…

Cycle Oregon

“At a time when childhood independence is declining and fewer children are biking to school, Cycle Oregon’s Summer Kids Camp aims to reverse the trend. Led by the experienced team behind the statewide Jump Start bicycle education program, the camp transforms young riders into confident bike commuters through a curriculum focused on safety, wayfinding, and real-world riding.”

Cycle Oregon did so well with their camps in their first year they’ve expanded offerings for 2026. They now offer full-day camps in Portland, Hillsboro, and Bend for kids ages 8-12. They offer scholarships to qualified families if you register by March 29th. Price: $550. Website

Biking Buds

“Our approach blends the magic of traditional camp culture, the intention of experiential education, and the practical skill-building of a modern day camp. Campers learn biking fundamentals at their own pace, strengthen resilience through supported challenges, and develop social-emotional confidence, all while riding, laughing, exploring, and making new friends.”

Biking Buds has four different camps and serves kids ages 3-12. Full day and half day options are available. Their home base is in the Ladds Addition neighborhood in Southeast. Price: $350 – $650 per week. Website

Pedalheads

Pedalheads offers two types of bike camps: one that sticks to streets and the other that goes off-road onto trails. Website

Northwest Trail Alliance

This just in from NWTA:

“Northwest Trail Alliance is partnering with Portland Parks & Recreation and the Montavilla Community Center to offer a series of mountain biking day camps for elementary school students. Check out our website and/or the Portland Parks & Rec. summer programs registration soon or more information, or reach out to Eric Oliver, erico@nw-trail.org.”

Trackers

“Join the Rovers Wheelers and learn to ride in a calm, supportive setting surrounded by laughter and discovery. Practice balance, braking, and pedaling through playful games and short, supervised adventures. When you’re off the bike, enjoy creative crafts, storytelling, and songs with new friends.”

Based in the Sellwood/Brooklyn area, Trackers is a Portland institution when it comes to quality outdoor education. Their Rovers Wheelers class is a full day camp for kids kindergarten to second grade. Price: $445 (5% discount if you register by April 24th). Website

WashCo Bikes

If you live in Washington County, this could be a great option for you. WashCo Bikes offers eight weeks of camps in various locations (Hillsboro, Tigard, Forest Grove) for kids ages 8-12. Price: $350 (scholarships available). Website

Coach Robbie MTB

I haven’t vetted this person yet, but the website seems legit so it might be worth inquiring if you’ve got a kid interested in becoming a serious mountain biker — or who just wants to gain confidence on the jumps and trails. Camps are held at Gateway Green Bike Park and Sandy Ridge Trail Area. Price $385. Website

Washington Transportation Camp

“If you are a high school student passionate about pursuing a career in transportation or simply curious about this rapidly evolving industry, WATC promises an adventure-filled camp where you’ll explore, discover, and have a blast while learning!”

This is a very intriguing program sponsored in part by the State of Washington. It’s a way for high schoolers to get exposure to the transportation industry while staying in a college dorm and learning form professionals in the field. It’s a free, week-long program offered to Washington high school students entering 10th, 11th or 12th grade. Website

Have you heard of any other bike summer camps? If so, let me know and I’d be happy to add them to this post.

By Sarah Risser

After Portland committed to Vision Zero in 2016, things only got worse. The statistics have gotten better recently, but if we want to reach zero we must acknowledge current shortcomings to our approach and be laser-focused on the true risks.

First, let’s rewind… 

For nearly a decade, road fatalities in Portland climbed (aside from small downticks in 2018 and 2022) until culminating in a three-decade, panic-inducing high in 2023 when 69 people were killed. Vision Zero was on the hot seat. People wanted to know when the carnage would stop. To outraged cries of “Vision Zero isn’t working,” City of Portland staff held firm. “It is working,” they’d say. Where the city invested in safety, fatalities were down. Not everyone was convinced.

Are we trying to make a dangerous system safer, or reduce the danger itself? They are not the same thing.

– Sarah Risser

Then, to everyone’s relief, fatalities dropped in 2024. And in 2025, they dropped sharply. The narrative flipped. PBOT issued a statement declaring progress, and many road-safety advocates put 2023 firmly in their rear-view mirror with a sigh of relief. But the two-year decline could simply reflect a post-Covid surge correction, rather than a structural shift. Moreover, Portland’s trends have closely mirrored national trends: a surge after Covid followed by a decline. This suggests larger forces are at play. 

And still, the core question remains: Why are Portland’s roads so deadly?

Portland’s Vision Zero staff have quietly answered this question with a disclaimer on the first page of every Vision Zero Action Plan, Update, and Addendum: ‘Achieving Vision Zero goals depends upon available funding… Optimal performance depends on funding.’ 

Portland is cash-strapped, and its budget reflects its core values. Until the city consistently prioritizes human life through sustained investment, road fatalities will persist. Based on this, everyone should immediately moderate their expectations. I could end here, but there’s more to say.

Funding is only part of the problem

The program lacks authority as evidenced by its notable silence on politically sensitive issues that directly impact safety. There are many examples including but not limited to: not speaking up for dedicated bus lanes on 82^nd Avenue or against high-speed police chases, refraining from weighing in on the possible widespread adoption of Autonomous Vehicles (AVs), and watching in silence as traffic-calming concrete planters are removed. A program tasked with eliminating deaths can’t sidestep policies that shape risk simply because they are controversial. To fully succeed, Vision Zero needs the courage and authority to engage in politically controversial policies and the unwavering support of Mayor Keith Wilson and City Administrator Raymond Lee when it does. 

In September of 2025, City Councilor Tiffany Koyama Lane introduced a resolution to reaffirm Portland’s commitment to Vision Zero and created a cross-bureau task force (which has yet to meet)  to build momentum for the program. This work should be applauded. 

Ensuring city council is fully behind Vision Zero is important; however, the most successful cities had a mayor who provided inspiration and championed Vision Zero. Hoboken, New Jersey offers a compelling and well-known case: Former two-term mayor Ravi Bhalla was inspired to act after he was forced to push his child’s stroller dangerously close to traffic. Bhalla worked tirelessly to daylight intersections, reduce speed limits, and upgrade infrastructure. Similarly, in Paris, former Mayor Anne Hidalgo transformed the city by taking space away from motor vehicles and giving it to bikers and walkers. The result has been a much quieter, cleaner — and safer — city. Having a Mayor who cares about road safety and is motivated to consistently prioritize safety over motor vehicles and throughput is extremely important to the success of the program.

Limits of the Safe Systems approach

The adoption of the Safe Systems approach by the City of Portland represented an important paradigm shift and step forward from the more top-down “Three Es” of Education, Engineering and Enforcement. Safe Systems incorporates public health principles which formally acknowledge that humans make mistakes and aims to reduce the consequences of human error by ensuring multiple systems — people, cars, speeds, streets, and post-crash care — are safe and work to reinforce each other. This ensures that if one system fails, other systems will compensate.

But the Safe Systems approach isn’t perfect. Its ‘Safe People’ pillar calls for shared responsibility among road users, directly contradicting the central tenet of Safe Systems: that humans will make mistakes and these mistakes should be anticipated. The focus on shared responsibility also enables potential back-sliding into a victim-blaming mentality and confusion over what is ultimately responsible for harm. For example, Portland’s unhoused population, as well as distracted or inebriated pedestrians, are often cited as part of the problem. They are not. These groups do not contribute to road traffic violence. They are at risk of being harmed by road-traffic violence. 

More importantly, the Safe Systems approach doesn’t clarify the cause of fatalities and serious injuries — the ‘pathological agent’ — nor does it provide a framework for prioritizing interventions. 

Vision Zero needs more clarity on what actually causes harm 

Recent work by Jessie Singer and David Ederer informs how Vision Zero programs can become more effective. In the video Singer produced for the nonprofit Families for Safe Streets, she argues that the safety science principles used in the workplace should be applied to road-traffic safety. Singer suggests applying “The Hierarchy of Controls” framework used in the workplace to prioritize interventions by effectiveness. Within this framework, the most effective intervention is physical elimination of the hazard (kinetic energy and the cars that convey it) with the least effective being personal protective equipment and education.  

Ederer reframes road-traffic safety with an epidemiological lens where the agent of harm, kinetic energy, is transmitted by motor vehicles to inflict harm on relatively fragile human bodies. He presents the Safe Systems Pyramid which encourages interventions that have a widespread public health benefit and require little individual effort.

Both Singer and Ederer’s contributions call for clarity and focus on what needs to be controlled — the agent (kinetic energy) and vector (vehicles) — and how to prioritize interventions. 

Vision Zero won’t succeed until it is empowered to clearly and unapologetically name the problem: kinetic energy, transmitted at dangerous levels by motor vehicles. Until the city fully commits to reducing that energy by lowering speeds even further and reducing the number of, and collective reliance on cars, fatalities will persist.

By skirting around the cause of harm, Portland’s Vision Zero program is too deferential to motor vehicles, which are not only the vector of death on our streets, but bring a host of negative externalities that extend far beyond traffic safety.

Are we trying to make a dangerous system safer, or reduce the danger itself? They are not the same thing. We need to reduce danger at its source. If we continue to focus on increasing safety while allowing more and more kinetic energy and large vehicles onto our streets, we will keep getting the same results.

— Sarah Risser is a member of Families for Safe Streets and a dedicated road safety advocate.

Weekend forecast calls for dry skies and lots of resistance. Time to hit the streets and show the world that Americans are not cool with Trump.

Check out all my recommendations for the weekend below…

Friday, March 27th

Kelley Point Loop Ride – 10:00 am at Wilshire Park (NE)
Join leaders Ronda and Bob for a 27-mile jaunt out to Kelley Point Park (a magical place where the Columbia and Wilamette Rivers meet). The return loop is along the bluff of Willamette Boulevard where you’ll get views of downtown and can see the progress of PBOT’s exciting project. More info here.

Saturday, March 28th

Women’s Equinox Race – 8:30 am at Ovation Coffee (NW)
Say goodbye to winter by racing your guts out in this totally unsupported and unsanctioned road race. Neutral roll-out from the Pearl to Helvetia area where the fun really begins. Register to get the GPS route. More info here.

Baerlic Bike Swap – 11:00 am to 2:00 pm at Baerlic Brewing (SE)
The swap is back! This has become a much-anticipated, very well-attended event that promises not just a bunch of really excellent deals on used bikes and parts from dozens of vendors, but also really solid community vibes. More info here.

Thorns Bike Bus – 11:00 am at Baerlic Brewing (SE)
This group ride to Providence Park to watch the Thorns match will leave the bike swap around noon. Come join a fun-loving crew of soccer fans for this spirited ride. More info here

No Kings Rally – 12:00 to 4:00 pm at Battleship Oregon Memorial (SW)
Show your resistance to Trump at what’s expected to be a massive, nationwide mobilization against him and his administration’s policies. More info here.

Gnargo Launch Party and Ride – 1:00 pm at The Athletic (N)
Gnargo is a bike company that offers front loading cargo bikes. They’re boosting their Portland presence and The Athletic is helping them kick it off with a short ride followed by a party at the shop. More info here.

Sunday, March 29th

Cycle Cats and the ‘Burbs – 10:00 am at Beaverton Transit Center (West Side)
Ready to explore more of Washington County? Let the Cycle Cats lead the way with all their pedaling panache. Expect a 34-mile length and intermediate pace. More info here.

— Did I miss your event? Shout it out in the comments blow, let me know by filling out our contact form, or just email me at maus.jonathan@gmail.com.

This week at Bike Happy Hour our special guest is Bike Lane Uprising Founder Christina Whitehouse.

Founded in 2017 after Christina suffered a very close call, this app and website has spurred of a nationwide advocacy movement. Christina, who was named Chicagoan of the Year in 2022 and one of the 50 Most Influential People in American Cycling in 2023, and her all volunteer-run organization, provide a platform that catalogs bike lane obstructions from riders in hundreds of cities.

By building rich databases full of who’s blocking bike lanes and where, Bike Lane Uprising has illuminated hot spots, changed laws, helped get justice for crash victims, and empowered thousands of cyclists across the country. Her app has logged over 100,000 bike lane obstructions!

This Wednesday, 3/25 (tomorrow!), is your chance to meet Christina, thank her for her amazing work, and learn about what BLU has planned for the future. In addition to a short presentation, Christina will bring have a few of the hi-viz, reflective jackets BLU is well known for available for purchase. The jackets are amazing and this is a great opportunity to see them in person and try one on.

Don’t miss it! We’ll all be downloading the app and sharing bike lane blockage stories. Swing by Bike Happy Hour tomorrow between 3:00 and 6:00 pm. We’ll be at Migration Brewing on N Williams Avenue. Hope to see you there!

It’s finally here. Three years after we first reported on it and just months after what program officials deemed a successful pilot, the Portland Rides, PCEF E-Bike Rebate Program is set for its full launch two weeks from today.

The program website went live today with information about how to prep for Monday, April 6th. Given that folks can qualify for an instant rebate of up to $1,600 for a standard e-bike or up to $2,350 for a cargo e-bike (plus $300 for accessories), I expect a lot of demand. People with low incomes (at or below 60% of Area Median Income) and those in various frontline communities (whom PCEF defines as, “groups disproportionately impacted by climate change and historically underserved by sustainability programs”) are eligible for rebates. Once deemed eligible, recipients will be chosen at random through an automated process.

Rebates for adaptive e-bikes will be available April 20th.

The program is powered by an investment from the Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund (PCEF) of $20 million over five years and is expected to provide over 6,000 bikes to people in need between now and 2029. Seetha Ream-Rao, PCEF’s Transportation Decarbonization Program manager, said the program will support Portland’s “deeply rooted bike culture,” and will, “make commuting more affordable for low-income households, support healthier communities, improve transportation access and help the city reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

An online application and a basic safety training course (completed online) are required for each interested person. Once they’re confirmed for a rebate, they’ll receive a code that can be used at any one of 14 participating local bike retailers. Participants must choose from a list of around 100 qualified e-bike models. The program offers rebates for Class 1 (20 mph max speed, no throttle) and Class 2 (20 mph max speed, throttle).

Below is the list of 14 shops taking part in the program:

• PSU Bike Hub
• Joe Bike
• Nomad Cycles PDX
• Trek Bicycle Portland Slabtown
• The eBike Store, Inc
• TomCat Bikes, LLC
• Clever Cycles Bicycle & Ebike Store
• Trek Bicycle Portland Hollywood & Outlet
• Trek Bicycle Portland Westmoreland
• A Convenient Cycle
• Sellwood Cycle Repair
• pXcycle
• Metropolis Cycle Repair
• Vvolt eBikes | Portland

Applications for this first round of rebates will be accepted between April 6th and July 24th. To learn more, do a test ride, and submit your application in person, visit the EV Tailgate Party Powered by PCEF Earth Day event at Parkrose Middle School from 12:00 to 3:00 pm on April 11th.

— www.portlandebikerebate.com

By Lois Leveen.

I want a street named Dolores Huerta
Let me tell you why
It would show us where we’ve been
And where we can go if we try
And if I ever feel lost
On a night that’s dark and bleak
I’ll find my way back home
On Dolores Huerta Street

– Alice Bag

Just after waking up on Thursday morning, I heard on OPB that Portland City Councilor Candace Avalos was proposing a street be renamed for Dolores Huerta. Huerta, a ninety-five-year-old activist who has dedicated her life to community building, political organizing, and bettering conditions for those whose labor makes our nation function, deserves to be honored. But the street Avalos identified already bears the name of one of Huerta’s longtime fellow activists, Cesar E Chavez. Avalos’s proposal is one of many such responses to the startling revelation, newly documented by the New York Times, that for years, Chavez sexually abused girls and women, including Huerta. 

Although the news broke on Wednesday, I somehow hadn’t heard it. Nevertheless, I had been thinking and speaking about Huerta on Wednesday evening, as I stood in the Abernethy Elementary schoolyard, singing with the Wild Rose Resistance Choir. Wild Rose is a street choir dedicated to singing songs of solidarity, resistance, and liberation. One of our favorites is Carsie Blanton’s “Little Flame,” a song that commemorates and inspires action in the face of injustice. “Little Flame” references a number of resistors and revolutionaries, and that night we took time to talk about each of them and the movements they were part of, including “Dolores,” as she is named in the song. 

Wild Rose is a radically welcoming choir, and we invite anyone who shares our commitment to resistance to sing with us. One of the participants on Wednesday, Perry, was joining our song circle for the first time. But, as is often the case, this person wasn’t a stranger. As fellow bicyclists, we’d connected on various group rides around Portland. And as a pedaling parent, Perry noted during our discussion of “Little Flame” that in April, various Portland schools would be participating in El Camino de Dolores, an Oregon Safe Routes to School “walk and roll to school day … to celebrate Dolores Huerta’s dedication to social justice” when “students will have the opportunity to learn about the farmworkers’ movement, her fight for equality, and how these struggles connect to current efforts for positive change.” 

Wednesday evening, the intersection of two parts of my Portland community-building life – singing as resistance and bicycling as connection – filled me with joy. But the revelation of the abuse Huerta and other women and girls survived has filled me and countless others with shock, horror, betrayal, and regret that someone we admired and lauded and studied had intentionally enacted such harm. As journalist Julio Ricardo Varela put it, “The years I spent defending César Chávez make me feel like a fool.” 

In 2024, I had co-taught Songs of Activism: The Music and the Movements of Harry Belafonte and Cesar Chavez, a course designed as part of an ongoing effort to diversify whose voices we raise up in music classes and jams. My co-teacher Avery Hill and I undertake this work because of how many beautiful and valuable voices have been marginalized or silenced, over many decades and centuries. We did not imagine that Huerta, whose inspirational activism we discussed in the class, was also one of the many beautiful and valuable voices who had been silenced. Now that we can finally understand from her own words what she carried all these years, we are even more inspired and moved to learn from her.

Every day, I cross Cesar E Chavez Boulevard. And every time I do, I think of terrible violence, violence that people in power have not done enough to prevent. I think of beloved children’s librarian Jeanie Diaz, killed by a driver across the street from the Belmont Library, while waiting for a bus to bring her home to her family. Of my beloved friend Grey Wolfe, a therapist and activist who, like Diaz, touched the lives of innumerable community members, and who was killed by a driver on the day before Thanksgiving, as she took her morning walk to Mount Tabor. Of Jocelyn Latka, a teenager I chatted with regularly when I patronized Movie Madness, where she worked, who was killed by a driver on 39th, as it was still called in 2006, partway along the seven-block-stretch where Diaz and Wolfe would later die. And of the others who have also died or been injured on this dangerous street, because Portland leaders fail to protect us.

Renaming one street is not enough to make us safe. Not safe from vehicular violence, nor safe from sexual predators. But renaming this particular street will make a difference. Reeling from the revelations about Chavez’s sexual predation, I composed a message to send the students who had taken Songs of Activism. I wanted to include a musical tribute to the women of the farmworkers movement, and that is how I discovered “Dolores Huerta Street,” a song written and performed for Huerta several years ago by the Latina punk pioneer Alice Bag. One verse, referring to an unspecified man for whom a street is named, seems particularly prescient in light of what we now know:

Those worn roads help preserve
And cement his story
Ignoring all her deeds
But think what it could mean
To a girl in her teens
If she could see what she could be
What she could be

Every day of my life, I cross a street named for someone we now know did terrible things over and over again, in a calculated and cruel way. I cannot honor that man, and I don’t want my city to honor him either. 

Naming a street or a school or anything for a particular individual can distort our understanding of history, because it’s not a single hero who makes meaningful change; positive historical change is always the work of many people, joining together. Labor movements in particular demonstrate the power of union:  coming together in collective struggle is a necessary strategy to make things better for everyone. Dolores Huerta herself is now reminding us that “The farmworker movement has always been bigger and far more important than any one individual.” 

So when my friends suggest the street formerly known as 39th might be better named Farm Workers Boulevard, or Grape Boycott Boulevard, or Solidarity Forever Boulevard, or Sí, se puede Boulevard, I know I would be proud to travel any of those streets. But I also know what Huerta has always meant to those whose lives she improved and to those whose own activism she inspired, and how much more she means to us for all she is modeling now. 

I don’t want to laud individual heroes. The cult of personality is part of what protects perpetrators like Chavez, just as it is part of what silences and isolates those they harm. And yet, in these times that feel so dark and bleak, I find that like Candace Avalos and Alice Bag, I also want a street named Dolores Huerta. 

As Nikki Darling wrote in “A Street Called Dolores Huerta,” the poem that inspired Alice Bag’s song, 

What would it feel like
and where would it go?

It would be like taking a journey
down a road I knew was meant for me.

A road I knew had been travelled
before my arrival.

A street named Dolores Huerta
would be a street worth seeing.

It would be valuable.
It is necessary and urgent.

Let us come together and build it.
We need desperately someplace to go.

Lois Leveen is an author, activist, bicyclist, and ukulele player in Portland.

(Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)