“…the millions of victims of the man-made Ukrainian famine-genocide of 1932-1933, known as Holodomor, should be solemnly remembered and honored; and be it further resolved, that we, the members of the 79th Legislative Assembly, designate Saturday, November 25, 2017, as Holodomor Remembrance Day in Oregon and encourage individuals, educators, businesses, groups, organizations and public institutions to observe Holodomor Remembrance Day with appropriate activities designed to honor the victims and educate Oregonians about this tragedy.”
– Excerpt from Oregon’s Senate Concurrent Resolution 3.
PORTLAND, Ore. – For the first time in its history, the Oregon legislature designated the fourth Saturday in November – November 25, 2017 – as Holodomor Remembrance Day in the state.
This legislation was introduced at the request of the local Ukrainian American community – another first in the history of the state. It was passed unanimously by both houses of Oregon’s legislature – the Oregon Senate and House of Representatives – and filed with the Oregon secretary of state on June 26.
The Holodomor Remembrance Day resolution had strong support from Oregon legislators of both political parties. The Ukrainian-American Cultural Association of Oregon (UACA) did a lot of work to educate the legislators about the Holodomor and earn their support for the legislation.
The work on the resolution, also known as Senate Concurrent Resolution 3 (SCR3), started more than a year ago, when several members of the UACA met with State Sen. Laurie Monnes Anderson to ask her to introduce this resolution in the Oregon Senate. Sen. Monnes Anderson represents Gresham and surrounding areas that are home to many Ukrainian Americans and is familiar with the UACA and the Ukrainian churches and businesses in her district. The senator read the proposed text of the resolution and asked many questions about the Holodomor. Like the majority of Americans, she was not familiar with the history of the Famine-Genocide but was eager to learn about it and its importance to her constituents.
Sen. Monnes Anderson became the champion of the Holodomor Remembrance Day resolution in the Oregon legislature. She filed it and, together with Sen. Jeff Kruse, acted as the chief sponsor. In addition to the two chief sponsors, 13 other Oregon legislators – senators and representatives from both the Republican and Democratic parties – became regular sponsors. The resolution was introduced at the request of the Ukrainian-American Cultural Association of Oregon and former Oregon Sen. Chris Edwards from Eugene.
Since this was the first legislative bill promoted by the Ukrainian community of Oregon, it was a big learning experience. The community learned about the legislative process in Oregon – the many steps it takes for a bill to become law. There was a lot of help and support from the office staff of Sen. Monnes Anderson and the legislative committees that heard the bill. For many community members this was the first time they had visited the State Capitol in Salem and witnessed public hearings and the voting process in the legislative chambers.
Before the resolution could go to the Senate floor for a vote, it had to be approved by the Senate Rules Committee. The committee met in February for a public hearing and a work session. Sen. Monnes Anderson introduced the bill to the Rules Committee members. Ihor Levkiv, president of the UACA; Tatiana Terdal, UACA board member; and Margaryta Smolyanska, a Portland State University student, testified in support of the resolution. Their testimony could be viewed live via video link to the Oregon legislature. It is now part of the permanent archive of the state of Oregon. The testimony made a big impression on the senators of the Rules Committee. They asked questions and spoke in support of the resolution. They all voted in favor of referring the resolution for a vote on the Senate floor.
Many members of the UACA came to Salem to witness the Oregon Senate vote on the Holodomor Remembrance Day resolution. Like all Oregon Senate sessions, it started with a convocation delivered by a local religious leader. Then, senators introduced special guests in the Senate chambers, including members of the Ukrainian American community of Oregon. Sen. Monnes Anderson introduced the resolution and several other senators spoke in support of it. This was followed by a roll-call vote. There were no “nays” and the resolution passed with unanimous approval.
The same process was then repeated in the Oregon House of Representatives – first a House Rules Committee hearing, then the committee vote to refer the resolution to the House floor, and finally the vote on the House floor. State Rep. Mitch Greenlick carried the Holodomor Remembrance Day resolution in the House of Representatives. Rep. Greenlick’s ancestors came from what is modern-day Ukraine; he has been a friend of the local Ukrainian American community and an honored guest at many UACA functions. He spoke strongly in support of the resolution, and the House of Representatives voted unanimously to adopt it.
Once the resolution was adopted by both houses, it was signed by Oregon Senate President Peter Courtney and the Speaker of the Oregon House Tina Kotek, and filed with the secretary of state.
A special ceremonial signing of the resolution took place on September 20 at the Oregon Senate Chamber. In the presence of many members of the local Ukrainian community and honored guests, the Oregon Senate president signed ceremonial copies of the resolution. Copies are proudly displayed at the offices of the Ukrainian-American Cultural Association of Oregon, the Ukrainian Federal Credit Union (UFCU), and the Consulate General of Ukraine in San Francisco. Alexander Krotenko from the Consulate General of Ukraine in San Francisco, and Tamara and Walter Denysenko from UFCU’s headquarters in Rochester, N.Y., came to Oregon for the ceremony.
The process took many months of the 2017 legislative session. During this time, Oregonians wrote and called their legislators, asking them to support this resolution first in committee hearings, then during the floor votes. The Ukrainian community is grateful to everybody who called, e-mailed, met with legislators in person, came to Salem to attend the hearings, and observed the votes. Oregonians are encouraged to contact their legislators now – to write and call them to thank them for their support and for their work. A brief note is all it takes to show legislators that you care and recognize their work: “Dear Legislator, Thank you for supporting SCR3, the Holodomor Remembrance Day resolution. I appreciate your work on behalf of Oregonians.” (Readers can find their legislators and their contact information on the web at https://www.oregonlegislature.gov).
This was a historic resolution. The Ukrainian community is grateful to representatives in the Oregon Senate and Oregon House of Representatives, to all the members of the 79th Legislative Assembly and especially Sen. Monnes Anderson and Rep. Greenlick for all their efforts on behalf of the Ukrainian American community of Oregon.