Now is the Moment to Act!
Support an Official Apology from Multnomah County to the Chinese American Community.
Submit your testimony in writing or in person to ensure this project gets the funding it deserves.
For nearly two years, the C.A.C.A. Portland Lodge has been working to secure an official apology from Multnomah County for the historic harm inflicted on the Chinese American community regarding the Chinese Section, Block 14, at Lone Fir Cemetery.
Block 14 holds deep cultural and spiritual significance for Portland's Chinese American community. Hundreds of Chinese American graves were desecrated, and nearly 3,000 ancestors were erased from public memory by the County's actions. Honoring ancestors is a core cultural practice, making these harms especially painful.
Based on the community's input, we submitted an apology resolution draft to Chair Jessica Vega Pederson, outlining a request for funding in support of a community memorial. The memorial will restore dignity, preserve heritage, and reclaim the untold stories of early Chinese immigrants. It will serve as a place of healing, remembrance, and education, ensuring visibility and inclusion for communities long excluded from our shared history.
On February 4, 2025, board members Helen Ying and Michael Yun, along with Metro staff Karen Vitkay, presented this request to the Multnomah County Commission. Their briefing underscored the need for recognition, repair, and a formal commitment to honoring the history of the Chinese community at the Lone Fir Cemetery.
We thank Chair Vega Pederson for advancing the County's apology and including $1 million in the proposed budget for the Block 14 Memorial. However, this is less than half of what was initially requested to build the community-supported design.
Now is the time to urge the Commission to fully honor its 2007 Memorandum of Understanding and partner with Metro to provide the necessary resources.
The research, engagement, planning, and design are complete and the Memorial is ready to be built.
How You Can Help
The County’s budget public hearings in May are a critical opportunity to advocate for funding for the memorial project and its long-term maintenance. Your voice is essential. Submit your testimony by 6/12/2025, the date of the final budget adoption, and help ensure this historic project receives the funding it deserves.
Steps
Click here to fill out the official C.A.C.A apology form
Email the official C.A.C.A apology, along with any additional written comments or suggestions you have about the County's proposed budget to boardclerk@multco.us or use this link
More information
Click here to learn more about Multnomah County's role in the site's history
Click here to learn more about the Multnomah County budget process and more ways to participate
Our Progress
Thank you to everyone who has submitted written testimony or presented testimony at the public budget hearings in May!
We are making progress! Community testimonies, both written and spoken, have helped move the County Commissioners to propose three budget amendments, advancing us toward the full $2.5 million requested in the draft apology resolution.
Click here to watch the testimonies presented at the 3 budget hearings.
Here's What Has Happened So Far
May 21 , 2025
Commissioners Brim-Edwards and Moyer co-sponsored an amendment adding $500,000 to support the memorial at Lone Fir Cemetery in Southeast Portland.
May 28, 2025
Commissioner Moyer proposed an additional amendment adding another $1 million and called for funding for perpetual care. (watch it here)
June 3, 2025
Commissioner Jones-Dixon proposed an amendment to close the remaining funding gap. (watch it here)
Now is the time to build on this momentum. Together, we can urge Multnomah County to acknowledge the past wrongs and take meaningful steps toward healing.
Thank you to the Commissioners for the proposed amendments. We urge the County Commission to approve:
The full $2.5 million in funding for the memorial construction
Commissioner Moyer’s amendment for perpetual care
