For Asha Deliverance, there is hope in tragedy.
Her son, Taliesin Namkai-Meche, along with Ricky Best and Micah Fletcher, stepped in upon hearing a man shouting racist epithets at two Black teenage girls, one of whom was wearing a hijab, aboard a MAX train on May 26, 2017.
The man, Jeremy Christian, stabbed the three who stepped in.
Namkai-Meche and Best were killed. Fletcher was gravely wounded but survived.
Deliverance returned on Wednesday to Northeast Portland’s Hollywood MAX station — where her son died four years before — with flowers and a box full of stickers that read, “We choose love.”
“If you have to choose a way to die,” she said, “he did so by putting a good message out into the world.”
Christian was arrested soon after the attacks and was convicted in February 2020of murder, attempted murder and multiple hate crimes, among other charges. He was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole.
Mayor Ted Wheeler called all three victims heroes.
“Today marks the four-year anniversary of the tragic MAX stabbings that took the lives of Taliesin Namkai-Meche and City employee Ricky Best, and severely wounded Micah Fletcher,” Wheeler said in a tweet. “I want to honor and recognize the victims, who showed tremendous heroism that day in the face of hate.”
Deliverance passed out the stickers as a crowd of roughly 50 people gathered to commemorate the attacks. There was free pizza for those who wanted it and flowers scattered on steps next to a mural dedicated to the victims.
“We choose love,” the same phrase that adorns the stickers, is emblazoned on the walls against a bright backdrop of yellows, purples and blues.
Drummers led a short march through the surrounding neighborhood as chants of “Mourn the dead! Fight for the living!” echoed off buildings, along with disparaging words about Wheeler and calls to abolish the Portland Police Bureau.
Deliverance said shedidn’t know anyone was planning to hold a vigil marking the anniversary of the attacks but was buoyed by the turnout. She shared a hug with Fletcher before leaving ahead of the march.
“He left some precious gifts behind,” Deliverance said of her son, recounting how some Muslim womenhad told her they felt safer on public transportation because of what Namkai-Meche, Best and Fletcher had done.
“It was no coincidence that he was on the train that day.”
