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Section C
7/z.-? Portland Observer
Black History 1998
February IS, 1998
B y J oy R amos
On Sunday, May 30, 1948,
the dikes of the Columbia
R iver broke, destroying
Vanport forever. At the time
of the Vanport flood, there
were about 18,500 people,
including 5,000 Blacks liv
ing in the housing project.
Vanport was the largest
war-time housing facility in
the United States. It was
hastily built by the federal
governm ent, costing $25
million. What took one year
to build was left in ruins
within 90 minutes.
There were two children
who first saw the oncoming
flood. “We heard a noise and
looked up and saw a cloud
of dust. As the dust settled,
we saw a wave of water just
like the ocean. We ran and
told our m others, then
started getting things to
gether,” remembers Freda
Love and Finnis.
Another victim of the di
saster was Virgil Smith.
“Vanport died quietly. The
w ater lifted the wooden
structures from their foun
dations. A swift current was
now flowing northward and
15 or 20 housing units were
moving with it. A sign, “One
Way,” stood above the wa
ter pointing the direction in
which the buildings were
moving.”
The crowd panicked as
people rushed to safety.
Prior to the flood, the Hous
ing Authority gave instruc
tions in the event it became
necessary to evacuate
Vanport. A point made was
“D on’t panic! You have
plenty of time. Take such
valuables as money and jew
elry. Don’t try to take too
much.” Out of extreme ur
gency, many fled with noth
ing but the clothes they were
wearing.
McKinley Burt was vis
iting friends in Vanport
when he heard the sirens
blaring at 11 AM. “Water
was picking up apartment
units and turning them
around. Everything was
gone,
sm ashed
to
smithereens. Women were
crying and screaming over
what they had lost.”
Their only recourse for
safety was to head towards
Denver Avenue or the rail
road embankment. “The wa
ter was waist deep at Denver
Avenue, the last street in
Vanport. Men were forming
human chains to help the
people through the swift cur
rent. Ropes were fastened to
telephone poles across the
street to form a handhold to
assist people in crossing,”
described W.A. Garnett, an
engineer for the Vanport fire
department.
The ravaging waters left
thousands hom eless and
devastated. Outside help had
arrived. “The current
stopped, but the water kept
rising until it stood knee
deep on the second floors of
I
Homes were flooded in Vanport on May 30, 1948. Vanport use to be America’s largest,
single war-time housing project. Overnite, it was the state's second largest city, surpassing
the state capital of Salem.
Courtesy of the Oregon Historical Society.
Flood refugees found whatever space was available. The bar around Portland American
Legion Post No. 01 with slot machines was the temporary home of Mrs. Edna Tidwell and
kids. June 2, 1948.
Courtesy of the Oregon Historical Society.
the building. Boats were be
ginning to arrive. The Na
tional Guard and the Red
Cross set up. The Salvation
Army was there,” noticed
Virgil Smith, a news re
porter.
Relief was given to the
people in need of shelter.
Portland became “The City
of R efuge.” Those co n
cerned had displayed self
less acts of good will and
Brotherly love towards the
flood victims.
“Portland citizens forgot
the color line - white women
willingly had Negro fami
lies in their homes and pet
ted and caressed colored
babies as fondly as if they
were their own. Colored did
likewise with whites,” said
a Christian observer for the
Northwest Clarion newspa
per.
A letter of gratitude was
written by the President of
the Oregon Fraternal Orga
nization to the Red Cross. It
read, “You had been very
broad and have shown no
racial discrimination.”
After the flood, many
questioned the wisdom and
foresight of the government
planners in the placement of
Vanport. Past warnings were
casually disregarded. “We
newcomers to Oregon now
know what we did not know
before. Oldtimers have told
us. We have learned that the
Colum bia long standing
warnings from time to time
when the Snake and
Willamette or other tributar
ies dumped too much water
into her main channel,” ex
plained Bob Clark.
If the possibility of a ma
jor flood was a gross over
sight, it proved costly. Fif
teen people had died from
the tragedy, maybe more.
The Vanport flood was a
m ajor turning point in
changing the race relations
in Portland. As with any
turning point, they serve to
move us to another level of
growth. It made African
Americans responsive to
new and difficult challenges.
They had to adapt under se
vere conditions to press for
ward. Progressively, power
shifted to the Black commu
nity in their favor. Commu
nity was a means of survival.
After the flood, many Af
rican Americans were seg
regated to the Albina area.
“Portland’s Black commu
nity was profoundly and per
manently altered. The war
brought new problems and
the beginning of solutions
to old problems. Black civil
rights organizations were
strengthened and new ones
formed. New visibility re
sulted in the passage of ba
sic civil rights legislation,”
wrote Elizabeth McLagan,
author of Peculiar Paradise.
Natural forces that cre
ated the Vanport flood had
also ushered in a new era
for the Black community.