LA CENTER — Dolcie Niemi, 37, and her 3-year-old son walked to the corner of their property and stuck a Black Lives Matter sign into the lawn at 2 p.m. on a Saturday in February.
By 11 a.m. Sunday, it was gone.
“I knew it would be stolen,” Niemi said. “That’s why I got two. I didn’t know it would happen so quickly.”
Niemi lives off Northwest Pacific Highway with her husband, Erik Niemi, and their 3-year-old and 9-month-old sons. She put the sign facing the Northwest Pacific Highway to get as many eyeballs on it as possible.
“I put it up in hopes people would see it and look more into the topic,” she said. “Mostly, I don’t think people get it. My goal was that people would educate themselves about the racism and bias that still exists against people who are black.”
Niemi and her family moved to La Center in 2012. She grew up in Eugene, Ore., and lived in Portland for more than a decade, so when she moved to La Center, she hadn’t lived in a rural community. The city was welcoming, she said, but it seems like most people keep certain beliefs to themselves. She said the city didn’t have many political signs on lawns last year during election season.
Cecelia Towner of Black Lives Matter Vancouver said the lack of a discussion about race and privilege around Clark County is something she’d like to see change.
“We as a community need to start having these conversations in a bigger way so we can dispel some of the mythology of what it means to say ‘black lives matters,'” she said. “We aren’t only saying black lives matters. Black Lives Matter is an organization of humanity.”
Towner said she wasn’t aware of any other Black Lives Matter signs that had been stolen or defaced in Clark County.
“It’s really quiet here about racial justice,” she said. “I’m not surprised the sign would be taken down.”
Niemi got the two signs from a friend in Eugene, Ore., and that friend also had her sign defaced. Niemi’s second sign is in one of the front windows of her house looking down her driveway at her dead-end, rural street — not exactly the most visible spot. She hasn’t gotten any comments, positive or negative, about the second sign.
Niemi said she didn’t put the sign up to try and push anyone’s buttons. She said she and her husband don’t want to alienate people, especially since he’s the pastor at Highland Lutheran Church. Erik Niemi said they have no way of knowing who stole the sign or the reason for stealing it.
“I was surprised it was stolen,” he said. “I think it could’ve just been some bored teens. Or it could’ve been some bored racists.”
Dolcie Niemi doesn’t think boredom was the reason for stealing the sign, though.
“Someone felt so strongly they pulled over on a road where people are driving 40 (mph),” she said. “I don’t know if it’s because the person wrongly assumed Black Lives Matter is an organization against cops or if they’re just truly racist. That’s why I wanted to put it up. It’s not about hating cops. I don’t hate cops. My brother is a sheriff’s deputy (in Lane County, Ore.).”
Erik Niemi had some success with talking about Black Lives Matter when he’s discussed it in church. He said he’s brought up the movement twice to his congregation, which averages about 80 people every Sunday.
He said he explained how people who oppose Black Lives Matter by saying “all lives matter” doesn’t add up. He said it’d be like going to a doctor for a broken arm, and the doctor inspecting the rest of the man’s body and saying, “Yeah, but the rest of your bones are okay.”
Erik Niemi said he received complimentary reactions from his congregation after bringing up Black Lives Matter, even though he knows there are mixed views in the audience.
He used the story of Jesus talking to the Samaritan woman at the well to tie into the importance for inclusion and Black Lives Matter a few months ago.
“It’s important to make these ancient texts feel relevant,” he said. “How does this help us to live today? If I don’t make that connection to the real world, I don’t feel like I’m doing my job.”
