Content Warning: This story shares quotes from residents of Polk County explicitly describing their experiences with racism. These quotes may be seen as graphic and triggering.
Caity Healy | Managing Editor
âEveryday we are met with hate.â This is what Dallas, Oregon resident Crystal Hayter had to say as to why her and her wife, Jasmine Hayter, decided to protest on June 4 in Monmouth, Oregon. Crystal self-identifies as a caucasian woman, and Jasmine self-identifies as an African American woman. They shared what a day in their life looks like for them as Polk County residents.
âShe wasnât allowed to go on my lease after we were married because sheâs African American ⊠There are certain businesses that refuse to do service with my wife unless I bring them the money. They will not take it out of her hand,â Crystal shared. âJust two days ago, our neighbors were out on the porch telling her, âGo back inside N-word.â And honestly, thatâs our everyday life in Polk County.â She shared stories of people in Dallas threatening to run them out of town, saying they should be tarred and feathered, and even saying that they miss the townâs âlynching tree.â
Jasmine went on to add that, âI want this to end, and I want this to end peacefully. People need to stop dying.â Her voice trembled as she spoke and she shared her story. Jasmine is one of many who shared sentiments as to why they were protesting on the intersection of Pacific Avenue and Main Street.
Carrying signs with messages such as âBlack Lives Matterâ and âNo Justice, No Peace,â at 4:30 p.m. on June 4, as well as on June 3, people took to the streets to protest police brutality in the name of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other black people whose lives were taken by police. Most wearing masks, as this protest came in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the cloth over their mouths could not keep them silent. Chants and honks were heard from far reaching ends of Monmouth. Some were there to be heard, others were more quiet but attended as an act of solidarity, some were passing out water bottles to those in attendance, but there was a general consensus amongst those present: change needs to happen.
Organizer of the event, Monmouth resident Carol McKiel, along with her husband Allen McKiel, stood alongside everyone holding their âBlack Lives Matterâ signs. Carol explained that the reason she formed this event was due to her questioning, âwhat can I do?â
âI just got up on Monday morning and thought, I have a âBlack Lives Matterâ sign, and Iâm going to stand on the street corner and Iâll do that as long as I need to.â So, Carol, along with Allen and a couple of her friends, did just that. It started with just the four of them, but by contacting their neighborhood, it slowly reached more people. By June 3, Carol claimed that there were over 120 people protesting on the street with her.
âI think whatâs really significant is we have white people standing out here with âBlack Lives Matterâ signs ⊠White people need to take this on if weâre going to fix it,â Carol added. Allen, her husband, chimed in as well.
âThis is a way for everybody to show everybody else that weâre concerned. Weâre not alone in being concerned and this is really, really terrible, and weâre waking up to the fact that itâs been terrible all along.âÂ
Another resident of Monmouth, one who lives in the same neighborhood as Carol and was invited to the protest through her message, shared a similar sentiment. Her name is Rebecca Salinas-Oliveros, and she self-identifies as a Latina woman. She expressed her concern with whatâs going on, and especially with how it will reflect on her daughters.
âIâm out here to show my daughters that thereâs still a little bit of hope. Theyâve been really grieving. And this has been very hard for them,â Salinas-Oliveros said. âAnd as a mother, I have to be real with them. Itâs hard to maintain hope, and just to make sure they know, yeah, itâs probably not going to get better any time soon, but we have to continue to try.â However, she expressed some hope and optimism due to the fact that Monmouth, a rural town, was able to come together for this protest.
âI didnât expect it. I donât think anyone really knew what to do. And this… this helps just not to be sad all the time. It gives me hope that even in a small town, there are white people willing to step up,â Salinas-Oliveros added. âAnd thatâs really what we need. We need white people to step up because thatâs where the power and the privilege is in our country. And theyâre the ones that are going to create the change and people are going to listen to. So seeing the number of white people out here gives us hope.â
While Salinas-Oliveros did express a level of optimism, not all in attendance felt the same. One man, who chose to remain anonymous, opened up and shared what he was thinking while protesting.
âBeing a colored person myself, it just hurts bad,â he said. âWhen this is all over, Iâm still colored. Itâs going to happen again. Nothingâs gonna change. All we can have is hope.â He added that, âI donât know if tomorrow Iâm going to make it … I could be going down the street and all of a sudden I get pulled over and Iâm gone. Just like that.â
Noticeably, there were no Monmouth police officers present at the event; this didnât sit right with him.
âThey havenât been here. They were not seen, and Iâm like, do they even care? The people care who are here protesting, but do the cops care? The way I see it, they donât.â He was not the only one who was uncomfortable with the lack of police solidarity.
âWe donât even see any cops around here, so we donât even know if theyâre listening to us. We need to see change from them,â said another anonymous source. âWe come out here to support this movement but we donât know if anything is gonna happen because theyâre just sitting over there doing whatever they want. We donât see support from them.â
The protesting continued from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. For the most part, it was met with honks, waves and smiles. There was some retaliation, though; some waved their middle fingers at the protestors, some yelled âAll Lives Matterâ in return to their chants, and some even went as far as to yell âF–k youâ to the protestors. Thirty minutes later, and just eight miles away, protests were happening in a neighboring town: Dallas.
The protest in Dallas, organized by resident Chaney Poulsen, was considerably smaller than the one in Monmouth. It was met with some waves and approval, with even the local Dominos donating a few pizzas to the cause. But similarly, it was met with two people waving âTrump 2020â signs, one yelling at the protestors âTrump 2020â and many heads shaking to express disapproval. In attendance at this protest were two people who also attended the one in Monmouth, Crystal and Jasmine Hayter.
âEnough is enough,â Crystal concluded. â(Jasmine) could be the next person, and Iâm not okay with that.â
The protests in Monmouth are planned to continue daily in the same place at 4:30 p.m. Carol McKiel says to bring umbrellas, because theyâll be out there shouting âBlack Lives Matterâ come rain or sunshine.
Contact the author at chealy16@wou.edu
Photos by Hannah Greene
