Our Center Is Proud to Share with Our Community an Illustrated Timeline of Oregon's Black History from 1788 to 2012

An IllustrAted tImelIne of oregon’s Black History: 1788—2012

Our center is proud to share with our community an illustrated timeline of Oregon’s Black History from 1788 to 2012. Our students and volunteers made selections of historical events that gave shape to the black experience in Oregon. These events contextualize our experiences and continue to have powerful implications into the present of all Oregonians.

Source: Rut Martínez-Alicea, Southeast Multicultural Center Coordinator, 2015 An IllustrAted tImelIne of oregon’s Black History: 1788—2012

http://www.theskanner.com/news/northwest/10353-a-brief-history-of-african-americans-in-portland-2011-05-03

1788 First African man to set foot in Oregon

Marcus Lopez, cabin boy of Captain Robert Gray, becomes the first person of African descent known to have set foot on Oregon Soil.

Source: Taken from Timeline of Black History in the Pacific Northwest, 1788-1959 An IllustrAted tImelIne of oregon’s Black History: 1788—2012

www.pdimages.com

1843-1844 A measure is adopted “prohibiting slavery”

Slave holders were required to free their slaves with the added requirement that all Blacks and Mulattoes must leave the territory within three years. The infamous lash law was then imposed which required blacks in Oregon — be they free or slaves — be whipped twice a year “until he or she shall quit the territory”.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_K._Polk 1848-1879 Land is granted to “Whites and half-breed Indians”

President Polk appointed Joseph Lane as Governor of the new Oregon Territory (raised in North Carolina and held southern Pro-Slavery beliefs). The Cayuse War forced Native American tribes onto and confined in reservations. The Oregon Donation Land Claim Act prevented them from obtaining reservation land west of the cascades. It sanctioned homesteading without regard for the legal obligations to Indian titles to the land. This act granted free land to only “Whites and half-breed Indians” excluding Native Americans and Blacks from owning land.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gpPB_eoNpcE/TbHX7NOMpLI/AAAAAAAAFiE/o13RivHCdgs/s400/oregon4.jpg

1857-1858 Black settlers head north to British Columbia

A new exclusion law is added to the constitution’s Bill of Rights. “Honest” John Whiteaker and many others were elected as officials and were well known for their pro-slavery views. Black settlers due to pervasive racism of the west coasts, head north to British Columbia.

http://wkcurrent.com/clients/wkcurrent/10-29-2007-11-51-31-AM-2223260.web.jpg 1859-1862 Colored residents of Oregon are required to pay $5 annual tax and interracial marriage is banned

Oregon is the only state admitted to the Union with an exclusion law written in it’s state’s constitution. Civil War begins in the east. The Knights of the Golden Circle, an anti-Union Pro-slavery group, opens chapters in many Oregon communities. Their goal was to secede from the US and Create a Pacific Coast Republic (where slavery would be legal). Oregon adopted a law requiring all Blacks, Chinese, Hawaiians (Kanakas) and Mulattos residing in Oregon to Pay $5 annual tax. If they could not pay, they could be pressed into service maintaining state roads for $.50 a day. Interracial marriages were banned in Oregon. It was against the law for whites to marry anyone ¼ black or more.

http://oregonhistoryproject.org/articles/historical-records/act-to-prohibit-the-intermarriage-of-races-1866/#.VOJwDvnF8Ro 1864-1870 Knights of the Golden Circle

Knights of the Golden Circle fall apart when it becomes appar- ent the Union will win the Civil War. Thirteenth Amendment, banning slavery in the United States, passes by referendum in Oregon. Oregon citizens do not pass the fourteenth amendment, granting citizenship to Blacks. The state’s ban on interracial marriages extended to prevent Whites from marrying anyone who is ¼ or more Chinese or Hawaiian, and ½ or more Native American (repealed in 1951). The Fourteenth Amendment passes 2 years later. Despite failing to pass in both Oregon and California, the Fifteenth Amendment, granting Black men the right to vote is added to the US Constitution which supersedes Oregon State Constitution banning Black suffrage. In 1959 Oregon finally ratified the fifteenth amendment to the U.S constitution.

http://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/media/uploads/Riley_George_speaker_poster_of_ba019162.jpg 1883-1927 Oregon repealed its Exclusion Law and Oregon State Constitution was amended

An attempt is made to amend the Oregon Constitution to remove its ban on Black Suffrage. The effort fails despite the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment. Further attempts to remove the language prohibiting Blacks from voting from Oregon’s Constitution were made in 1895, 1916. In ‘26 Oregon repealed its Exclusion Law, which barred Blacks from the state, by amending the state constitution to remove it from the Bill of Rights. In ‘27 the Oregon State Constitution was finally amended to remove a clause denying Blacks the right to vote and eliminating restrictions that discriminated against Black and Chi- nese voters.

http://walidah.com/files/hidden%20history%20section%20skin%20OR%20humanities%20magazine.pdf

1800’s Transcontinental railroad brings the first large influx of Black people to Oregon

The Completion of the transcontinental railroad brings the first large influx of Black people to Oregon. Willie Richardson, president of the Oregon Northwest Black Pioneers, credits Black railroad workers for building a community in Portland: “Because they stayed, they allowed a whole new generation to come in and succeed.” In 1906 Black businessman W. D. Allen opens the Golden West Hotel, which becomes the center of a thriving Black-owned business district. The hotel is designed primarily to serve Black railway employees, who are denied accommodations in Portland’s white- owned hotels.

Source: http://walidah.com/files/hidden%20history%20section%20skin%20OR%20humanities%20magazine.pdf An IllustrAted tImelIne of oregon’s Black History: 1788—2012

http://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=LAH19020919.2.58&srpos=&dliv=none&e=------en--20--1--txt-txIN------

1902 “Quietly and orderly” lynching of a black man due to alleged rape

Alonzo Tucker was a Black man who worked as a bootblack and operator of a gym in Marshfield, Oregon (Coos Bay). A white woman alleged that Tucker had raped her. The charges were never substantiated. A mob of 200 armed men marched on the jail, marshal freed Tucker who hid beneath a dock. The next morning he was shot twice and then hanged from the Fourth Street Bridge by a mob that had grown to more than 300. The coroner’s inquest found no fault; the victim, the report said had died of asphyxiation. No indictments were brought. The local paper observed that the lynch mob was “quietly and orderly” and that the vigilante meeting was not an “unnecessary disturbance of the peace”

Source: Echoes of Oregon, A Brief History of the Oregon territorial Period An IllustrAted tImelIne of oregon’s Black History: 1788—2012

http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2014/01/post_115.html 1903-1914 Weekly newspaper features important and authentic information pertaining to the African American community

Beatrice Morrow Cannady (a black woman) was an editor of The Advocate started as a weekly newspaper for the “intelligent discussion and authentic diffusion of matter appertaining to the colored people, especially of Portland and the State of Oregon.” It featured birth and death announcements, society news, and general good news about African Americans. Articles and editorials about segregation, lynching, employment opportunities and other issues helped keep the realities of “Jim Crow laws and the pressing need for civil rights on the local, state and national agenda.” The newspaper challenged attempts to deprive black people of their rights, to deny Blacks their humanity, and to degrade their African cultural heritage. Beatrice was also a co-founder of The Portland Chapter of the NAACP, the oldest continually chartered chapter west of the Mississippi river, is founded.

Source: Looking Back In Order to Move Forward An Often Untold History Affecting Oregon’s Past, Present and Future Timeline of Oregon and U.S. Racial, Immigration and Education History and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatrice_Morrow_Cannady An IllustrAted tImelIne of oregon’s Black History: 1788—2012

http://oregonhistoryproject.org/articles/historical-records/nareb-code-of-ethics/#.VOJjl_nF8Ro

1919 Selling of property to people of color in white neighborhoods is prohibited and then repealed

The Portland Board of Realty approved a “Code of Ethics” prohibiting realtors and bankers from selling property in white neighborhoods to people of color or providing mortgages for such purposes. Repealed in 1957.

https://www.saadigitalarchive.org/browse/subject/bhagat-singh-thind 1923 Race as legal qualification for citizenship

An Oregon WWI veteran was denied U.S. citizenship. The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Bhagat Singh Thind could not be a naturalized citizen despite the fact that anthropologist define people of India as belonging to the Caucasian race. A previous ruling had affirmed that immigration law referring to “white" meant “Caucasian” as it applied to denying citizenship to light skinned Japanese immigrants. In this case, Justice Sutherland argued that since the "common man's" definition of “white” did not correspond to "Caucasian", which Indians were, they could not be naturalized. Thus the color of skin became the legal qualification for citizenship status in the United States.

http://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/ku_klux_klan/#.VOJiU_nF8Rp

1920’s An estimated 14,000-20,000 members of the KKK in Oregon

KKK flourished in Oregon. By the mid 1920’s membership was estimated between 14,000-20,000 with numerous sympathizers who were no official members. Oregon’s Governor from 1922-1926 Walter M. Pierce, though not a member was overtly supported by the Klan and he promoted the Klan’s Agenda. Together with Freemasons, Klansmen spearheaded a drive to outlaw private and parochial schools which they viewed as primary obstacles in their drive for “Americanism”. They’re rallying cry was “One Flag! One School! One Language!”

http://www.ohs.org/education/oregonhistory/_files/_resource_files/VanportFlood1948P260.jpg 1948-1950 Vanport

The Urban League of Portland took the Housing Authority to task for not enforcing the official federal policy of nondiscrimination in housing. The Housing Authority’s local policy was to separate tenants according to race, making it impossible to serve either whites or people of color on a first come, first served basis. Some vacant housing in Vanport and Guilds Lake were unavailable to white people because they were in an area designated for Blacks only. The Portland Housing Authority did not integrate its operations until 1950 and even by 1957 was not offering housing to most Blacks. On Memorial Day, a Columbia River flood left 39 people dead and obliterated all of Vanport. There was no direct action taken by Portland’s Housing Authority to resettle flood victims as patterns of segregation were reinforced. Most displaced Blacks were forced to congregate in the Albina section of town.

www.homes.com

1957 Equal Housing

Lawmakers passed the Oregon Fair Housing Act, barring practices that had discriminated against African Americans. This law made it illegal for property owners or their agents receiving any public funding to discriminate “solely because of race, color, religion, or national origins”.

Source: Looking Back In Order to Move Forward An Often Untold History Affecting Oregon’s Past, Present and Future Timeline of Oregon and U.S. Racial, Immigration and Education History Source: Looking Back In Order to Move Forward An Often Untold History Affecting Oregon’s Past, Present and Future Timeline of Oregon and U.S. Racial, Immigration and Education History An IllustrAted tImelIne of oregon’s Black History: 1788—2012

http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/index.php/encyclopedia/encyclopedia/enc_civil_rights_act_of_1964/ 1964-1965 Civil Rights

1964-1965 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 Outlawed un- equal application of Voter registration requirements. It also prohibited racial segregation in schools, in the workplace and by the facilities that served the general public. It invalidated “Jim Crow” laws, but attitudes and behaviors did not change just because of this federal law. Congress Passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965. It prohibited any “voting qualification or prerequisite to voting, or standard, practice, procedure… to deny or abridge the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race or color. The act outlawed literacy tests in order to register to vote (a principal means by which southern states had prevented African-Americans from exercising their rights).

http://walidah.com/files/hidden%20history%20section%20skin%20OR%20humanities%20magazine.pdf 1969 Portland Panthers

Kent Ford and others establish the Portland chapter of the Black Panther Party, with support from Reed College students. The Panthers run a free children’s breakfast program for five years, feeding up to 125 children a day. They operate the Fred Hampton Memorial People’s Health Clinic, which grows to twenty-seven doctors and becomes one of the longest-running Panther health clinics in the country. In 1970, they founded the Panther Dental Clinic. Portland Panthers experience the same targeting by law enforcement as Panthers nationally, and members of the Portland Panthers face multiple false arrests and trials.

Source: http://walidah.com/files/hidden%20history%20section%20skin%20OR%20humanities%20magazine.pdf An IllustrAted tImelIne of oregon’s Black History: 1788—2012

www.frequency.com

1970’s Sundown Laws

Though no current concrete evidence that “Sundown Laws” existed on the statute books has been found in Oregon, there is a rich oral history. It describes signs and attitudes throughout Oregon well into the 1970’s that warned Blacks and other People of Color to be out of town by sundown. James Loewon’s book, Sundown Towns: A hidden Dimension of American Racism, documents this practice throughout the United States.

Joel Palmer Winner pdf.

1981-1985 Citizen’s Committee Formed

Two police Officers dumped dead opossums at an African American-owned restaurant in Portland. The incident evoked ugly KKK imagery and touched off one of the most contentious disputes between police, city government and the public. As a result a citizen’s committee to review police

actions in Portland was created.

http://walidah.com/files/hidden%20history%20section%20skin%20OR%20humanities%20magazine.pdf

1982 Busing Program

The Black United Front protests the closure of predominantly Black Harriet Tubman Middle School by organizing a one-day boycott with four thousand students. The closure follows Portland schools’ mandatory busing program throughout the 1960s and ’70s that sent Black students to schools far from their homes to attend integrated schools; most white students attended their closest neighborhood school.

Source: http://walidah.com/files/hidden%20history%20section%20skin%20OR%20humanities%20magazine.pdf An IllustrAted tImelIne of oregon’s Black History: 1788—2012

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Carter

1985 Margaret Carter

State Representative Margaret Carter was sworn into office, beginning a 24 year legislative career. Senator Carter advocated for mental health parity, environmental protection, consumer education, health reforms, and human dignity for every Oregonian. Senator Carter also sponsored the bill to establish Oregon’s Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday and engineered the divestiture of state funds in overseas companies supporting apartheid in South Africa.

Source: http://www.blackpast.org/aaw/carter-margaret-louise-1935#sthash.SOCD4QgG.dpuf An IllustrAted tImelIne of oregon’s Black History: 1788—2012

http://walidah.com/files/hidden%20history%20section%20skin%20OR%20humanities%20magazine.pdf

1994 Measure 11

Measure 11 passes, which establishes mandatory minimum sentencing for several crimes. It removes judges’ discretion in sentencing. The measure requires juveniles over the age of fifteen who are charged with these crimes to be tried as adults. As much as 41 percent of Oregon’s prison population growth is attributable to Measure 11. A 2011 report by the Partnership for Safety and Justice says Black people account for just 4 percent of the state’s youth population, but they represent 19 percent of Measure 11 indictments.

Source: http://walidah.com/files/hidden%20history%20section%20skin%20OR%20humanities%20magazine.pdf An IllustrAted tImelIne of oregon’s Black History: 1788—2012

http://gregnokes.com/books/?p=1180

1999-2000 Day of Acknowledgement

The Oregon state legislature held a Day of Acknowledgement to recognize the past discrimination earlier legislatures had sanctioned. 2000 Oregonians finally voted to remove all racist language from its constitution which still had a clause that read: “No free Negro, or mulatto, not residing in this state at the time of the adoption of this constitution, shall come, reside, or be within this State, or hold any real estate.” Though this and other discriminatory language was rendered unenforceable by federal laws and amendments to the U.S. Constitution, it was not until this election that removal of several examples of institutional racism and oppression were taken out of the Oregon Constitution.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/19/us/politics/19campaign.html

2008 Obama Visits Oregon

Candidate (now president) Barack Obama brings in record crowd during his campaign in Oregon. An estimated 75,000 gathered on the banks of the Willamette River in Portland and in Kayaks and small pleasure crafts.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/19/us/politics/19campaign.html An IllustrAted tImelIne of oregon’s Black History: 1788—2012

http://ulpdx.org/

2012 The State of Black Oregon Report

The Urban League of Portland releases their State of Black Oregon Report. “This report is meant to provide a baseline of information for those who want to know the depth of the issues; a guideline for those who want to be part of their solutions or to learn what is working well so they can replicate success; and a timeline to bring the appropriate sense of urgency to circumstances kept on the sidelines far too long.”

Source: http://ulpdx.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/UrbanLeague-StateofBlackOregon.pdf An IllustrAted tImelIne of oregon’s Black History: 1788—2012

RESOURCES

Urban League of Portland 10 N Russell St Portland OR 97227 (503) 280-2600 / www. ulpdx.org

Unite Oregon:Multinomah County Chapter 700 N. Killingsworth Street Portland, Oregon 97217 (503) 287-4117 / www.uniteoregon.org/

IRCO:Main Office 10301 NE Glisan St. Portland, OR 97220 (503) 234-1541 / www.irco.org/

Africa House 631 NE 102nd Ave Portland, OR 97220 (503) 802-0082

Asian Family Center 8040 NE Sandy Blvd. Portland, OR 97213 (503) 235-9396

Senior Center 10615 SE Cherry Blossom Dr. Portland, OR 97216 (503) 484-6371

International Language Bank 10301 NE Glisan St. Portland, OR 97220 (503) 234-0068

SEI: Self Enhancement, Inc. 3920 N. Kerby Avenue Portland, OR 97227 503.249.1721 / www.selfenhancement.org/

Portland Community College’s Multicultural Centers: http://www.pcc.edu/resources/culture/

Cascade Campus, Student Union 302 | 971-722-5795

Rock Creek Campus Bldg. 7, Rm. 118 | 971-722-7435

Southeast Campus, Mt. Tabor Hall, Room 150 | 971-722-6054

Sylvania Campus, CC 267B | 971-722-4112