Decades after Multnomah County, Oregon, bulldozed the graves of Chinese and Chinese American residents for a maintenance building and parking lot, the Board of Commissioners formally acknowledged and apologized for the harm, expressing sincere regret to families and community members.
Board members unanimously passed the resolution on Thursday, June 26, just two weeks after approving $1 million in the FY 2025-26 budget to help fund a memorial at Lone Fir Cemetery, now owned and operated by the Metro regional government. The Board’s goal is to acknowledge the contributions of people of Chinese heritage—as well as the persistent discrimination they endured—including at the County’s hands.
“This action by our Board is a sincere apology to address past wrongs and honors the unrecognized stories of Chinese Americans originally buried at Lone Fir,” said Chair of Multnomah County Jessica Vega Pederson. “It is very important that this response was built in close collaboration with our Chinese American community and will be followed by community events, additional remembrances, and a lasting memorial that helps us commemorate these lives into the future.”
Commissioner Meghan Moyer said it was her honor to represent District 1, where Lone Fir Cemetery Block 14 is located, at this moment in time. She said, “it gives me an opportunity to participate in the truth-telling and the beginning of a reconciliation between an institution that I am proud to be a part of, but that has committed acts that have inflicted incredible pain to the Chinese American community.”
“There are not words that can heal this type of action,” Commissioner Moyer said, “but I think a consistent and sincere effort to take ownership and work collaboratively to restore the harm caused is the least we can do.”
A press release with more information is online here.
