Oregon Public Broadcasting

Monday night, Portland tries again to address the  naming of a street in honor of civil rights pioneer Cesar Chavez. The subject has provoked some bitter disagreements in the past. But as April Baer reports, the city is re-tooling the process in hopes of a more civil debate.

Some people who lived or owned businesses along the street in question, Interstate Avenue, felt the change--and its cost--was thrust upon them. While many Portlanders said they had no problem with honoring the man who did so much for farm laborers, and for the Latino community, the issue also drew its share of openly racist comments. This time, city commissioners are taking a different tack. Over the next two months, a panel of historians will hold three meetings, concerning each of three new streets that might be renamed: Grand, 39th, and Broadway.Mike Greenfield: "It's important to know that the historian panel is the right place to come if you want to talk about your view on the honoree."Mike Greenfield has been hired by the city as a consultant. He'll be moderating tonight's meeting. His job in part, is to keep the discussion confined to two or three topics, such as....Mike Greenfield: "The degree to which this is this is a person of historical merit and ought to have a street named after him. Or the degree to which you think an existing street name or the street itself has historical properties of its own." Greenfield says conversations about the potential expense of a name change or other concerns should be saved for another night. Later meetings of the planning commission or city Council itself will be scheduled to tackle these topics.