holiday celebrating the news of slavery's
and reaching those in the state of Texas,
well, we wanted to explore someg
that's present in many of our communities.
But it's not often talked about,
especially on a platform like t.
Racism. The history of racism in Oregon
stretches way back into the 184,
more than a decade before the territory
became the 33rd state in 1859.
Even though racism is not as in
your face as the black exclusioy
laws of the 19th century,
it still rears its ugly head
nowadays in a variety of ways,
including intimidation tactics.
It's happening now.
Police in the city of Redmond
in Deschutes County,
population 35,000,
are investigating a hate
crime against the mayor,
as well as the only black person
to sit on Redmond City Council.
A raccoon that was abused and lt
to bleed to death was dumped one
front door of the mayor's law office.
Next to the animal was a racist
note that mentioned the mayor
and black counselor by name.
Certainly racial.
It was very hateful and as unfortunate.
This was an unfortunate example
of you still have some wackos
out there who don't get it.
People have to get over the
fact that things change.
Redmond's not what it was 50 years ago.
It's a diverse community now,
and some people just have
a hard time accepting that
there were no security cameras o
get a look at the person responsible.
Police are still trying
to figure out who did it.
Last week, the Redmond City
Council spoke publicly about the
incident for the very first tim.
And Mayor Ed Fitch explained
the prejudice against his black
colleague has been going on
since he was elected in 2020.
In the last 2 1/2 years, I've seen Clifford
continually attacked as a couns.
It's not because of what
he does or his background.
It's simply because of the color of his skin.
Here's a guy who's a Navy veter,
a former law enforcement office.
Dedicated to helping small businesses,
particularly those downtown.
And these attacks are just continual year in,
year out. And that to me that
can be the only explanation.
It's not by everybody,
it's by a small group of people.
We get anonymous letters about .
You saw what happened last Mond.
It's just really, really sick.
Really, really wrong.
And I'm proud to call Clifford.
My friend,
Counselor Clifford Evelyn had a
message for citizens saying nows
the time for people there to ask
themselves what kind of a placey
want Redmond to be moving forwa.
The county act that was carried out at
the mayor's personal business oe
was something out of the 1950s and 60s.
For those who do not support teaching
accurate and sometimes uncomfore
American history in our schools,
This is why it's important to d.
Apparently history repeats itself and
horrible acts of racism are occurring
in our town and in our communit.
Systematic racism is alive and
well in certain pockets of Redmd
and Central Oregon.
Dog whistles and gestures will not deter
me from performing my duties aty
Council and along with my colleagues,
we will continue to do the worke
sort of do for the City of Redm.
A large crowd gathered at the
City Council meeting to support
the Mayor and Counselor Evelyn.
As well as decry racism there in Redmond,
and although it was made clear that there
are a small pockets of hate in the area,
the problem is perhaps more
pervasive than many want to bel.
A 10 year old named Gavin testid
at the council meeting talking t
things that he's experienced in
elementary school as a person of color.
When I was in 3rd grade,
I went to a school called Sage.
I felt like I belonged.
Now I'm in fourth.
A lot of people have been callie
the N word or a monkey, even black boy,
One girl said to me I would hit,
but that's called animal abuse, that to me.
We should not get treated like .
We should get treated equally.
This is not fair to us black pe.
We're told it was actually Gavis
idea to speak in front of the Cy
Council following the disturbing
incident at the mayor's office.
But it is striking to hear that
kind of testimony from a child,
and it shows we have a long way to go to
ensure that everyone feels like they belong.
By the way, if you or someone you know
has been the victim of a hate crime or a
bias crime because of things like race,
sexual orientation or religion.
You should report it to the
state's Bias response hotline.
You can call
184-4924. Bias that's
1-844-924-2427.
Or you can report it online.
Just head to the website right
there on your screen stand agait
tate.oregon.gov.