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June 05, 2002
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R on HERNDON S peaks : Displacement Hits Community Once Again
Ron Herndon Speaks is a se
ries feature o f the Portland Ob
server. In this installm ent,
Herndon, a community leader and
activist, talked with correspon
dent Yugen Fardan Rashad on a
number o f topics.
Y ugen: Please speak on im m i
nent dom ain, and its historic im
pact on P ortland’s low -incom e
residents, particularly com m uni
ties o f color. B usiness entities and
developers draw up plans for ex
pansion that often change the
landscape and disperse folks into
oth er areas to live. T he expansion
plan o f Portland C om m unity C ol
lege seem s to have affected the
ability o f R enaissance M arket to
rem ain open. O perators o f the
store indicate negotiations with
Portland C om m unity College hit a
snag, but are on-going.
H e rn d o n : You have black in
stitutions that have served the
co m m u n ity w ell, such as the
church (Albina Christian Life Cen
ter), R enaissance M arket, and
H ead Start. T hese institutions are
helpful to a num ber o f people and
families in thiscom m unity. W e’ve
had a great relationship with the
college and students o ver many
years. A nd 1 think it’s unfortunate
now that PCC says it has a better
use for the property in the sur
rounding area.
It’s hard enough to establish
institutions in o u r com m unity.
Then to be told you have to pull
up stakes for the ‘good o f soci
ety ’.
W here I w ork (H ead Start) it’s
very disappointing. W e’ve had a
facility located on the PCC C as
cade cam pus since the eighties.
W hen they (PC C ) begin discus
sions about expansion, we were
told we w ould be part o f the plan.
And now we get told (2001) w e’re
When property
values fall,
speculators come
in who have access
to capitol that
was denied black
people.
i
not involved in the expansion.
In 1992, the strategic plan also
reflected support for reserving
space for H ead Start. G o back and
look at the m aster plan draw ings
for proof. In fact, our contractor
told us we had to hold h alf our
slots open for PCC students so
they could enroll their children in
our program .
The college w anted, and got,
voters to support bond m easures
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for expansion; that it w ould have
a positive im pact on the com m u
nity. And once the bond passed,
and the plan w ent forw ard, th a t’s
w hen w e’re told ‘you have to
m ove’.
A s o f m id-June, we have to
move. And let me make it clear that
this doesn’t reflect any negative
criticism o f Dr. M ildred O llee
(p re sid e n t, C a sca d e cam p u s).
W e’ve had a great relationship
with her. Thjs has to do with board
m em bers and the folks that run the
college.
It (displacem ent) rem inds me
o f w hat happened som e decades
ago with Em anuel H ospital. They
told residents that this was urban
renewal, we have the right o f im m i
nent domain, and we will offer you
a set price fo r your property.
Y ug en : T he history o f this city
show s how urban renewal dispro
portionately affects residents in
these neighborhoods.
H e rn d o n : L ook at the freew ay
(Interstate 5) w hen it was built and
how it disrupted the general co m
m unity, and blacks that lived in
the area. And in the 70s, a m edian
w as built up and dow n w hat was
then know n as U nion A venue
(M artin L uther K ing, Jr. Blvd),
w hich took aw ay valuable park
ing sp aces an d d e stro y e d o r
harm ed black businesses along
the corridor. So, U nion A venue
expansion, 1-5, Memorial Coliseum,
Emanuel Hospital, PCC - and some
w ould argue the light rail project:
Each section w as an area w here
black people lived. A lm ost every
decade since the 50s, you will find
a m ajor event around develop
m ent or urban renew al that is for
‘the greater g o o d ’, but w inds up
being disruptive to com m unities
o f color.
Y u g en : O v er decades, I sus
pect you’ve identified obvious
displacem ent patterns w ith this
scenario, and especially when we
look at gentrification in corridors
o f the inner north and portheast
sections o f Portland?
H e rn d o n : Sure there are. The
way it happens here is in the form
of divestment. There were no in
vestments made in housing, no
effort m ade to improve services in
this area. Redlining by banks made
it difficult for blacks to get loans to
buy or im prove their property, and
that’s a matter o f record. C om
plaints about police services. You
allow a com m unity to suffer eco
nomically and atrophy follows. And
when these things happen, many
folks call these disinvestm ents.
W h en p ro p erty values fall,
speculators com e in w ho have ac
cess to capitol that was denied
black people. They (speculators)
com e in and buy (real estate) for
little or no m oney, fix it up to live in
or sell and the price o f the real estate
(taxes) then skyrockets. And con
sequently, those folks who lived in
the community for decades will find
they are no longer able to afford the
rent. S econd-generation hom e-
ow ners and the elderly struggle to
pay the property taxes. So with
speculations and gentrification, the
v alu e o f p ro p e rtie s h as sh o t
through the ceiling.
Y ugen; T h at’s am azing!
H e rn d o n : Y ugen, som e folks
saw this com ing 25 years ago.
T his area o f northeast P ortland is
som e o f the m ost valuable pieces
o f real estate in the city because
its centrally located and w ithin
m inutes from the L loyd C enter,
Union Station, and Portland Inter
national A irport. You can w alk to
d o w n to w n , and fre ew ay s fo r
travel are in proxim ity.
It was suggested that black folks
buy up this property when it was
depressed. Back then, you could
get it for a song. But there were only
a few people who did that. O ne o f
diem was the late W illie Harris.
That brother was very astute. I
m eet a lot o f people w ho say they
understand business. But I w on
der if any o f them every sat down
with W illie Harris to learn from
Giving
our best.
Ron Herndon
people in our midst. He was very
successful and d idn’t brag about it.
It w ould have been great if our
fraternal and religious institutions
had made those purchases by pool
ing their collective buying power.
W e would own today what is now
King Boulevard, Alberta Street,
w here all this developm ent is
occurring. It was possible.
A t one tim e, I was associated
with what was know n as the Black
Educational Center. W ith this non
profit, in about four years, from the
m id to late 70s, we acquired three
pieces o f property on Northeast
Alberta and 17th. Unfortunately
m any o f us d idn’t have the fore
sight to buy up more property.
Y ugen: Back then that sounds
like the G olden A ge o f buying up
property, and today, a m issed op
portunity. W hat w ill be the politi
cal fall out on this issue?
H ern d o n : Right now, it’s almost
im possible to get property today
because the value has gone up.
T here are political ramifications,
too, because blacks that can ’t af
ford rent are being forced to m ove
to southeast Portland and Gresham.
A nd w hat strength you had politi
cally, is now diluted. The next time
you see reapportionment, you will
find that what was once District 18,
w hich at its height was 50 percent
black, in 10 years will drop to 30 to
25 percent black. Your ability to
elect folks that represent your con
cerns and issues will be signifi
cantly lessened.
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