A Hidden History

A Conversation Project program reveals the stories and struggles of Oregon'’s African American communities.

I eyed the thirty chairs set up in small circles around the top-floor room of North Portland Library and frowned. That Sunday in February 2012, I would be leading my Conversation Project program “Why Aren't There More Black People in Oregon? A Hidden History” for only the second time. The first was at Hollywood Library, where we reached the forty-person room capacity and had to turn folks away. So I figured we'd need a few more chairs at North Portland.

But as people poured into the large, open room, librarian Patricia Welch and I realized there wouldn't be enough seats for all these folks even if we grabbed every chair in the library. Finally, with the room at maximum capacity, Welch regretfully started turning people away.

That was a year and a half ago, and since then I've facilitated the program with more than a thousand Oregonians across the state. I developed my program and a timeline, excerpted on the pages that follow, to explore the history and living legacy of race, identity, and power in this state and this nation.

Race is not a topic we often discuss in public settings, at least not explicitly. We are told we are in a “postracial” landscape, yet race is the number one determinant of access to health care, home ownership, graduation rates, and income, as the data from the Urban League of Portland below show.

We can't understand these disparities without understanding history. I didn't grow up in Oregon; I moved here to attend high school. It wasn't until I had the privilege of attending a presentation by Darrell Millner, founder of Portland State University's Black Studies Department, that I learned Oregon was created as a white utopian homeland. That Oregon was the only state that entered the Union with a clause in its constitution forbidding Black people to live here. That the punishment originally meted out for violating this exclusionary law was the “Lash Law”: public whipping every six months until the Black person left the state. That this ideology shaped Oregon's entire history and was reflected in the larger history of this nation.

My goal with this program and timeline is not just to recount all the horrific wrongs done to Black people and other people of color; it is to showcase communities of color as active agents in their destinies. The only reason a Black community exists in Oregon is because of determination, creativity, and community-building.

There are so many stories: from the Black community in Salem raising money for a school in 1867 when their children were barred from attending white schools, to North Williams Avenue as a 1930s underground jazz gem, to the 2001 repeal of the state constitution's exclusionary language that was led by community leaders and organizers and supported by allies. This is a history not of victimization, but of strength and hope. One of my greatest joys has been creating a public space for people who have lived in this community all their lives to tell their stories, to be seen as the experts and change makers they are.

I always end the program with a list of organizations working across this state for racial justice, a list that grows with every program I do. Each of us has the power to learn these hidden histories, and each of us has the right and the responsibility to create the kind of state, nation, and world we all want to live in.

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Tags

America, Belonging, Civic Life, Civil Rights, History, Laws and legislation, Oregon, Power, Race

Comments

9 comments have been posted.

As a foster child, spending much of my adolescence in a small community in Southern Oregon, I grew up wondering why there weren't any black people living anywhere close by and why Native Americans were treated with such disdain. Interesting, illuminating article. Thank you for sharing.

Richard C. | February 2021 |

Ancestral Blessings to you. Thank You for your passion and your amazing gift. Ayibobo to you!

Dr Yaa Élombé Dessalines | October 2020 | Brooklyn, Ayiti

The reason why Oregon has a limited diversity is due to the 1850's laws and all black settlers were beaten evry 6 months until they "left". This was territorial Oregon or "Oregon Country" and includes the states of washington and Idaho and parts of Montana. You could claim 640 acres. The native indian populations were not allowed lands either. I suspect minorities were just killed. They were not a part of the united states until 1859. So Oregon Country.

Jesse J | September 2020 | Portland, OR

Great article. I never knew the historical beginning of the State of Oregon. Being born and raised in New Orleans, it's at once refreshing to hear of others far away from me that have very similar experiences, but at the same time disheartened at the extent of black people's struggle. I have to begin to broaden my understanding of race relations from a deep south perspective to a much more globel outlook. Thanks.

Lamont Lewis | August 2020 | New Orleans LA

Great resource. Thank you. Time to update for Covid19 and George Floyd murder. Is this slide show available in pdf?

Scott Greer | June 2020 | OR

I am looking for any information there might be out there about where Mr. Alonzo Tucker may have been born, or how old he was at the time of his murder. Even an occupation could help.

Mark Strait | February 2020 | Eugene, OR

I was looking up "how did the San Diego Zoo acquire the bison they donated to the marine corp, on camp Pendleton.

Danielle | November 2019 |

It is very important what you have done, fearlessly speak on this subject in this oppressive state. I would love to come to your events. This need more broadcasting in my opinion, because had I not been going through issues and researching, I would not have heard of you. Thanks.

LAJAZIAN LAJAZIAN | March 2019 |

Thnaks so much for doing this work and creating conversations about it. I would like to be notified of your next Humanities conversations about race and you rnext spoken workd performances. Please, Thnaks You! Reverend Teri D. Ciacchi Living Love Revolution 206-612-3511

Teri Dianne Ciacchi | February 2014 | Portland, OR

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Editor's Note: The Skin I'm In

A Hidden History

Dangerous Subjects

More Than Skin Deep

One America?

Picture Their Hearts

Being Brown

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