Former state Sen. Margaret Carter was newly elected as the first Black woman to represent Oregon in the state Legislature when she introduced a bill in 1985 to make Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday a state holiday in Oregon.
It wasn’t easy at the start, she recalls, but Carter’s bill prevailed. Monday marks the 40th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Oregon and nationwide.
Though the United States Congress had approved a federal holiday for King in 1983, Carter, a Democrat, faced some resistance from other lawmakers to establishing the holiday in Oregon, she told The Oregonian/OregonLive in 2023.
Some rural representatives wondered what their constituents would think, Carter said. Others took issue with combining the holidays dedicated to Abraham Lincoln and George Washington into a single President’s Day to make room for the King celebration.
“I had one legislator tell me, ‘How dare you want to move a President’s Day for this Black man, who’s a communist, to be celebrated,’” Carter recalled. “Those comments were pretty disturbing to me.”
Nevertheless, House Bill 2433 passed both chambers of the Oregon Legislature by the summer of 1985. The first Martin Luther King Jr. Day was celebrated in Oregon – and across the country – the following year.
In an interview Sunday, Carter remembered the first MLK Day as a “pretty exciting” affair, with celebrations hosted by nonprofits and newspapers and state workers engaging in acts of service.
“Everybody had something to represent (King’s) birthday,” she said.
On Monday, civic groups around Portland will mark the occasion in a similar way.
The Urban League of Portland, which describes itself as Oregon’s oldest civil rights organization, is hosting a brunch at the Oregon Convention Center. Don’t Shoot PDX will lead a march on North Rosa Parks Way. Cities and nonprofits are hosting cleanup activities at parks and gardens.
Carter, 90, said she won’t be joining any large events this year after being recently released from the hospital.
She’ll be reflecting, she said, on good things happening in Oregon, despite what she considers a troubling federal outlook.
As a spiritual woman, Carter said, she often turns her attention to taking care of the poor. Despite moves by the Trump administration to restrict food stamps benefits or cut Medicaid, Carter said she’s encouraged to see Oregon officials fight to preserve access to food and health care.
“Oregon is headed toward doing the right thing,” Carter said. “That brings a sense of peace and quietness to my heart.”