By backing down in the face of a racist backlash, Sam, you are sending an unwelcoming, hurtful message to Portland's Latino communities. Cesar Chavez was an American hero but more importantly he was the Martin Luther King of the Mexican American and now all Latino communities.

Remember the rhetoric of the "citizen's councils" in the face of 'pushy' Martin Luther King -- 'go slow', 'not here', 'go back to where you came from'. Remember the reaction to renaming Union Avenue (we didn't shrink from calling it racist back then).

The virulent hostility to this initiative of our new (and not so new) neighbors has little to do with the actual cost to businesses and everything to do with the anti-immigrant firestorm sweeping our country.

Yes, Sam, it's important to do the right thing. Choose inclusion, dignity and respect for Portland's Latino communities, even if it costs you some votes in the mayoral election.