So, here's something to break the mundanity of the gray weather we've been having here this winter so far: the sunny front of KBOO headquarters on SE 8th, complete with last spring's lovely blossoms.
Named after a kind of pot associated with Berkley, California, in the mid 60s (and how appropriate is that?), KBOO has adhered to its mission for over 40 years now. That's a lot of rabble rousing and community activating. How many other organizations have given up, given in, or dramatically shifted their mission in the same amount of time? But the KBOO charter calls for providing "programming to diverse communities and unserved groups" and " a forum for unpopular, controversial, or neglected perspectives on important local, national, and international issues, reflecting KBOO's calues of peace, justice, democracy, human rights, muticulturalism, environmentalism, freedom of expression, and social change." Indeed, if you were to look at their schedule for the day I'm writing this, you'd see an array of programs from "Astral Traveling" to "Islamic Point of View," and with focal points ranging from Conjunto music to Italian music from the 60s.
Sure, they have their controversies, and the to-be-expected accusations of hypocrisy. You can't be a political-commercial endeavor that exists for this long and please everyone. But there's something so very Portland about this station, with its open-armed policy of social equality. If nothing else, no matter what our politics, we should give props to the KBOO community for the constant commitment to both the various peoples of Portland and to their original vision.
Maybe it's best to think about KBOO in a larger perspective--perhaps balance an hour of it with a certain amount of time given over to conservative talk radio. At the very least, you'll be hearing voices in your head for days.
It's a colorful life.
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