Calhoun Avenue is a five-block residential street in the culturally diverse neighborhood of St Johns in Portland. It is named after John C. Calhoun, who served as US Vice-President from 1825-1832.  He was one of the South's most outspoken defenders of slavery.

Recently, other monuments and institutions named after Calhoun have been changed, such as Yale University's Calhoun College. Yale President Peter Salovey said: “The decision to change a college’s name is not one we take lightly, but John C. Calhoun’s legacy as a white supremacist and a national leader who passionately promoted slavery as a ‘positive good’ fundamentally conflicts with Yale’s mission and values.”

This petition recommends the new name of "DePreist Avenue" after African-American music director of the Oregon Symphony, James DePreist, who died in 2013.

We the residents call upon the City Council to make the name change based on ordinance 17.93.050, in which the Council initiates the change directly. The "through-the-system" method of petitioning a change shuts down the application before it even starts, since the existing name is of "historic significance." (17.93.020 A)