Timeline for Deepening Public Engagement to Reimagine Monuments

Summary of activities:

• Summer 2020: Like many cities across the US, racial justice protests and counter-protests rippled across Portland in the summer and fall of 2020. Multiple, complex actions layered together in space and time, including social justice organizing, peaceful protest, vandalism and illegal acts, and police violence.  Monuments to Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Theodore Roosevelt and Harvey Scott were toppled. The Elk and Promised Land statues were removed following damage.
• 2020 - 2021: City Council and City Arts Program received over 300 emails or letters from 2020-2021, expressing a wide range of views, concerns, and support. Notable letters included: The Board of Trustees of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, Letter to SHIPO, Renea Perry.
• Summer 2021: Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) and Converge 45 develop the Prototypes exhibit focused on monuments and memorials. RACC issues a public feedback request on Portland’s monuments.
• Summer 2021: City leaders approved the South Park Blocks Master Plan. As part of public engagement on Portland Parks & Recreation master plan for South Parks Blocks, many comments were expressed about reconsidering the relevance and appropriateness of the Roosevelt and Lincoln statues. Native American community advisors expressed concern over the historic focus on settler culture and the European-influenced park design resulting in an erasure of Native American history and culture. They emphasized that the Roosevelt and Lincoln statues should be reconsidered and offered suggestions. At the same time, the South Park Blocks was under consideration to be included in the National Register of Historic Places. The original application would have limited the community’s ability to reconsider monuments in the park, specifically the toppled Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln statues. Thanks to public testimony about the Portland HIstoric Landmarks Commission, with support from City Council, recommended against nomination to the National Register until a more inclusive proposal could be put forward.
• Fall 2021: Guerrilla art installation of York is placed at Mt. Tabor and sanctioned by Portland Parks & Recreation and the Arts Commissioner. The City of Portland responded to public calls for reevaluating monuments through direct outreach with the Regional Arts & Culture Council, and by supporting a series of public engagement efforts on monuments which focused on fostering dialogue, and community engagement to determine the future of monuments in Portland. Opinions on all sides were strong, with many arguing for immediate return of the toppled monuments, many arguing against, and nuanced viewpoints in between. 
• Winter 2022: Overwhelming public interest and community support led Portland City Council to unanimously adopt a resolution to fully restore and return the Thompson Elk Fountain, an iconic landmark that was damaged in 2020. The Office of Arts & Culture commissioned a report from Lewis & Clark College to provide recommendations for developing and implementing a thorough community-centered public engagement process focused on monuments and memorials. The Arts Commissioner and Mayor earmark $50,000 to support additional public engagement on monuments, specifically York.
• Summer 2023: Portland City Council unanimously accepts Monuments & Memorial report from Lewis & Clark College. The Office of Arts & Culture receives a $350,000 grant from the Andrew J. Mellon Foundation to support community engagement, and planning for the Portland Monuments Project. The Office of Arts & Culture announces the adoption of new interpretations and a process to begin repairs for Presidential monuments of Abraham Lincoln, George Washington and Theodore Roosevelt. 
• Fall/Winter 2023: In partnership with the Arts Commissioner, the Office of Arts & Culture launched a public survey about the City’s monuments and expanded public engagement efforts across Portland’s newly defined districts through a series of community focused Arts Talks.
• January 2024: The City published a draft monuments policy for public comment. Feedback was collected over four weeks and incorporated into the final draft of city code which was presented to City council on February 28.
• February 2024: The Office of Arts & Culture collaborated with the 1803 Fund, Alberta Abbey, Oregon Black Pioneers, and Oregon Historical Society to celebrate Black History Month through a community-led public conversation about York, whose monument was vandalized in 2021. The dialogue focused on enriching public education and knowledge about the experiences and contributions of Black Oregonians, especially in a state that once legally banned Black people.
• March 2024: Portland City Council unanimously adopts Public Monuments Review Policy on March 6, setting a national standard for public engagement, art policy, and monuments. The City of Portland also receives a partial payment from the insurance claim of $225,000/$775,000 for damaged monuments.
• April 2024: The Office of Arts & Culture directs the Regional Arts & Culture Council to begin repairs of presidential monuments in preparation for new interpretations in Fall 2024.
• May 2024: The Office of Arts & Culture announces Monument Symposium for September 2024 and decision to deaccession Harvey Scott and Promised Land monuments.
• Summer 24–Fall 24: The Office of Arts & Culture launch the Public Talks & Conversations series led by the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art and Converge 45, with support from project partners. The Public Talks & Conversations series begin with a multi-day Monuments Symposium on September 13 and 14.
• Winter 24–Winter 25: Public Talks & Conversations continue to provide opportunities for Portlanders to share ideas about the creation of new monuments like the York Bust, the addition of interpretations to the monuments of Presidents Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, and Theodore Roosevelt, as well as recommendations for what happens next with the deaccessioning of Promised Land and Harvey Scott.
• Spring 2026–Summer 2026: Data from the Public Talks & Conversations series is analyzed, incorporated into recommendations for policy/rulemaking, and reported to the public.