Approximately 150 people came out on Saturday, June 13 for Welches Walks for Racial Justice, joining cities across the country and around the world in a peaceful demonstration in the wake of the death of George Floyd, a black man killed inMinnesota by a police officer. Welches Schools alumni Cristina Saldivar,
Madeline Kenney, Brooke McAlester, Jenny Covington and Maria Burkeorganized the event.

“It was great for us to see that turnout,” Saldivar said. “It was special for us
to see we were not alone.”

The walk began at the intersection of Hwy. 26 and Welches Road and
travelled down Hwy. 26 to Woodsey Way and into the baseball field next to
the school. There, the group knelt for eight minutes and 46 seconds, the first
reported time that the police officer knelt on Floyd’s neck, and then broke into
small groups to discuss race.

The effort started after the organizers recognized a lot of interest in the
community, including seeing Black Lives Matters (BLM) signs, while also
wanting to make a local impact.

“We were feeling very angry and we wanted to figure out a way to open up
this conversation to more people than just our immediate friends and family,”
Kenney said.

The event brought out people from all parts of the Mountain and beyond, from
local families with young children to retired teachers who once taught the
organizers when they were students.

Tom Well, who taught at the Welches School for 32 years before retiring in
2009, joined the walk while carrying a sign that read “Not too old to stand up
for change.”

“Being the white guy, haven’t really understood the oppression that a lot of
people of color have had to live with,” Well said, while noting how proud he
was of the organizers. “As I’m becoming more educated and seeing more
things happening, it's really opening my eyes.”

Well, who recalled growing up in Portland and seeing signs on doors such as
“whites only” and the Selma march, noted he believes the global
demonstrations seem different this time and real change could be in the
works.

“It needs to happen,” he said. “For me, it needs to start at the top and we
need to have a person that is compassionate about other people, cares about
other people, lift people up and not push them down.”

Bryan Tull, a Brightwood resident who will have two children at the Welches
Schools this fall, noted that his family comes from a diverse background,
including Native American, Chinese and more, and wanted to stand with the
community at the event.

“I feel like we pass off as white,” Tull said. “We’ve been sitting on our
privilege for too long. I wanted to make a difference and show our kids there’s
other people not doing as well as we are.”

Lisa Aschoff, whose husband’s great-great grandfather, Adolf Aschoff, was
one of the early settlers in the community, noted she grew up in the south
where she witnessed racism and recognized that she needed to step up and
join the effort.

“I feel the flame moving around the world,” said Aschoff, adding that she has
a grandchild who has a white mother and a black father. “It's astounding that
we have an ear all across the world. For me to stand back and not put my
energy behind this would be wrong.”

The walk also included Shemar Lenox and Jaylen Welch, both Gresham
residents who have similarly organized an effort in their community to bring
more awareness of the BLM movement, called the Gresham Standup
Movement. They hope to implement changes within the schools, police and
more.

“We felt like there wasn’t really anything being done in our community,”
Welch explained, adding that the group plans on more protests this summer,
including going to Washington D.C. in August. “Gresham is very white

populated, and we need the white voice just as much as we need everybody
else. We need change and we need it now.”

Organizers of the Welches Walks for Racial Justice also created a website,
https://welcheswalks.weebly.com/, spearheaded by McAllester, offering a
variety of resources and links to help keep the discussion going. McAllester
noted that the site points people in the right direction to better equip them for
that discussion.

“I just want people to start listening,” she said. “Some listen to certain voices
and not others because it fits the narrative.”

“It's easy to be in our bubbles and surround ourselves with those who align
with those values,” added Saldivar. “There’s so much more we need to be
listening to.”

The organizers of the Welches Walk for Racial Justice hope to offer more
events in the future, including a movie screening and trivia night.