Page 4
February 7, 2001
Focus
Portíand’s Evolving
African American
Community Continues
schools and num erous other busi
nesses and services.
The Church
The church had always played a
dominant role in the African Ameri
can society. Since the early days o f
slavery the pulpit had been the
means to communicate the stron
Black History Month
on OPB
Goin' to Chicago
The story of how millions of African-Americans moved
from the rural South to the cities of the North.
Thursday, F e bru ary 8 a t 10pm
Bob Marley: Rebel Music
News and archival footage provide insights into the music,
politics and spiritual inspiration of the reggae superstar.
Wednesday, February 14 a t 9:30pm
Marcus Garvey:
Look fo r Me in the Whirlwind
The dramatic rise and fall of a leader who influenced politics
and culture around the world
Iportbniò
gest o f messages to scores o f black
people throughout America. The
church had always been the soul
and heartbeat o f the community and
by the 1900’s, this had not changed.
African A m ericans found ample
em ploym ent both during and af
te r the fa ir, in c re a sin g th e ir
chances ofhom e ownership. How
ever, m any upscale neighbor-
An aerial view o f the Albina District from North Vancouver
Ave. to Russell St. (Courtesy o f OHS)
At the turn o f the century,
the downtown Portland
community consisted o f
several small churches.
Three o f them were the
A M E Z io n C h u rc h
(started as The P eople’s
Church in 1863), Bethel
AM E C hurch and Mt.
O livet B aptist Church.
As A frican A m ericans
began m igrating to the
e a s t s id e o f to w n ,
churches w ere started up
in the A lbina D istrict.
The Lewis and
Clark
Exposition and
Oriental Fair
of 1905
The fair was called the
“m ost notew orthy enter
prise o f the early tw enti
eth century.” From June
1" to O ctober 15 '\ nearly
1.6 m illion people paid
their w ay into the fair.
The event brought in a
halfa million people from
regions far beyond the
Pacific N orthw est and
put Portland on the map.
hoods cam e with restrictions bar
ring blacks from owning property
in that area, forcing them to locate
in the more modest areas.
WWI and Economic
Growth -The
Emergence of the
KKK
T he w ar and its a fterm ath
caused great economic and social
changes. Fear and discom fort
grew over threats o f international
B olshevism because o f the Rus
sian Revolution.
L ocally, the grow th o f large
co rp o ra tio n s, fast paced social
ch a n g e s, u n e m p lo y m en t, and
high prices, led A m ericans to
feel they w ere losing control.
The Ku Klux Kian emerged, prom
ising to restore the “sm all town
and local control” . They claimed
aliens or outsiders had to be elim i
nated. Jew s, Blacks and Roman
Catholic immigrants w ere said to
be causing the im balance and
needed to be chased out o f town.
In 1922, K ian candidates won a
few seats on the M ultnom ah
County Com m ission and about a
dozen seats in the state legisla
ture. Fortunately they ran out o f
Friday, February 16 a t 9:30pm
OPB
CHANNEL 10________________________
Il's Where You Belong • www.opb.org
The Shiloh Baptist Church in the Montavilla neighborhood
in 1916. Church life played a dominant role in the African
American society. (Courtesy o f OHS)