Published In
Portland Monthly Magazine
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-2020
Subjects
Racism -- Oregon -- History, African Americans -- Crimes against -- Oregon, Oregon -- Race relations -- History, African Americans -- Civil rights -- Oregon -- History, Social justice, Anti-racism, Racial justice, Racial equity, Equality, Discrimination
Abstract
Writer Walidah Imarisha on eight years of talking about the brutal history of race in Oregon.
Name a small town in Oregon. I have most likely been there, talking about race.
For the past eight years, starting as part of Oregon Humanities’ Conversation Project, I’ve stood in front of thousands of attendees in packed libraries, community centers, senior homes, college campuses, and prisons.
I’ve seen it all: multiple people arguing the Ku Klux Klan was and remains a “civic organization,” chiding me for focusing solely on the “negatives” while adamantly denying they support racism or are themselves racist. I’ve received death threats and seen physical disruptions from white supremacists in Oregon towns large and small. And in my travels, I’ve used history as an organizing catalyst, and worked with social justice groups for positive change, from city hall resolutions to curriculum overhauls to ballot measures.
Rights
© 2020 SagaCity Media
Portland Monthly has given permission for the final version of this article to be hosted in PDXScholar.
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/34445
Citation Details
“How Oregon’s Racist History Can Sharpen our Sense of Justice Right Now.” Portland Monthly Magazine, March 2020.
Included in
Inequality and Stratification Commons, Race and Ethnicity Commons, Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies Commons, Social Justice Commons