Frequent visitors to Hawthorne Avenue will recognize vendor Keith Montgomery, who sells the paper, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Monday through Friday, outside Powells Bookstore.
“I’m always here during those times,” he says, “unless I have a prior engagement like a doctors appointment.” He laughs.
Keith first started selling Street Roots six months ago, after moving up from his hometown Los Angeles. Having worked in sales over the past couple decades, selling newspapers nationwide via the phone, Keith naturally took to selling the paper once he established his turf. “It’s just now we’re talking face to face,” he says.
Overcoming shyness was never an issue for him. He stands listening to music emitting softly from his phone, sometimes by his favorite singer, Beyonce, and he greets those who pass by. “He’s a great guy to talk to,” says his friend Kevin at Fresh Pot. Espcially when it comes to sports, depending on your perspective.
“I’m a big football fan. See, the Cowboys,” he says motioning to his light blue, zebra-print Dallas Cowboys hat. “So I’m gonna wear my Cowboys hat all the time.”
And Keith certainly has plenty to choose from — he has 12 Cowboys hats. Harder to see are the bracelets he wears on his wrist. One is for Justice for Families, an organization that works to end the epidemic incarceration of juveniles. “Sometimes kids make mistakes and they have really harsh punishments,” he says. “The punishment is disproportionate from one kid to another kid, from race to race. It’s not right… But these punishments, you’re not gonna make anybody better. All they’re gonna do is come out tougher criminals. You know?”
His other bracelet? It states “I Have a Dream,” the quote by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Keith spent the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington selling Street Roots and reflecting with others on the changes he has seen since the '60s. As a child living in L.A., Keith was first told about the civil rights movement by his mother.
“I know it really helped her. That caused change… My mother was a housewife. She became a secretary and she worked for Hewlett Packard for a long time. And she did this because of all this educational opportunity. My great-aunt was a maid, but she went to school. She ended up working for an electronics company. See, all that training, change did come from that.”
Keith’s passion for civil rights issues does not stop at his bracelets. Despite being a relative newcomer to Portland, Keith has already made it a habit to serve his community, volunteering for both Justice for Families, where his sister also works, and Adoption Mosaic, an organization that provides support and education for families in the adoption community.
Being the oldest of seven brothers, it is no wonder Keith’s passions lie with helping and protecting children. It turns out we had met once before, when Keith marched with Street Roots in this summer’s Gay Pride parade. “I want the right for people to live happily. That’s important. And more to have people decide how they want to live and still have the same rights and be happy.”
Looking forward, Keith, is hopeful about what the future might bring. “Everything I believe in I hope for. I believe in things that haven’t happened, but I hope they will happen. With Street Roots, I’m hoping for the best.” Among Keith’s hopes are that he doesn’t get too wet this winter and that his health stays well enough to keep selling the paper. “I figure somebody writes, somebody takes the photographs, somebody has ads and marketing, and then there has to be somebody that actually sells the paper… One paper at a time.”
At the end of our chat, Keith gives a shout out to everyone who supports Street Roots. “To everyone I’ve met, thank you very much. And I’ll be seeing you soon!”