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(Cl|e P ortland (Observer celebrates Black History Month
Block History Month
February 12.2003
Henry McNeal Turner is remem
bered mostly as one o f the first
Bishops in the African American
Episcopal Church, y e t he was
also a political organizer and
college chancellor.
Black Churches Thrived in Early Portland
con tin u ed
George Hardin was hired as
a Portland police officer in
1894 with influence from the
New Port Republican Club.
Early African Americans
relied on a networking
system o f churches, social
clubs, political clubs and
fraternal organizations to
survive in a racist city.
fro m M etro
boughtthe Japanese M ission Build
ing on 10th betw een D avis and
Everett. The church rem ained there
until 1 9 l6 w h en an ew b u ild in g w as
b u ilt o n N o rth L a rra b e e an d
M cM illen streets.
A fourth church, T he M ount
O livet B aptist C hurch w as estab
lished in Portland during the 18 9 0 ’s
after w hich it m oved to the north
east side o f tow n on F irst and
Schuyler.
In a bizarre move, a local branch o f
the KKK donated the lum ber for the
church. Some felt the Kian wanted to
get the church out o f the dow ntow n
area where white churches were con
tinuing to spring up.
In 1879, a Portland group o f reli
gious blacks felt they w ere far bet
ter o ff than those in the deep South
and began encouraging others to
m ove here. T hey form ed the Port
land C olored Im m igration Society
and provided tem porary housing
for new com ers to the area.
A lthough numerous social clubs,
political clubs and fraternal organi
zations were formed, many did not
last due to members struggling to
find y o rk , housing and vital services
or support important to their sur
vival as a black person in a
racist city.
O ne o f the groups that
becam e v ery successful
w as the New Port Repub-
I ¡can Club. The group was
influential enough to se
cure em ploym ent for a
church-going black man
nam ed G eorge Hardin, as
a Portland Police O fficer
in Portland in 1894.
A c e n tu ry and tw o
W orld W ars later, huge
progress had been made
term s o f P o rtlan d 's
black churches. A look in
the current city directory
w ill show m ore than a
thousand churches in the greater
Portland area, m any o f w hich are
A fric a n A m e ric a n in o rig in .
C hurches all over O regon today
w elcom e blacks, w hites, A sians,
H ispanics, N ative A m ericans and
The old Mt. Olivet Baptist Church, the longest surviving
African American church in Portland, stands on Northeast First
and Schuyler. Several years ago the congregation moved to a
new location in north Portland.
Photo Exhibit Shows
‘Love in Our Times 9
“Dancing Towards
Liberation, ’ (left) a
1953 photo by
Griffin Jerome Davis
and “One Love," a
1998 photo by Aida
Muluneh (below), are
among the works by
African American
artists on display
this month at the
downtwon
Nordstrom store.
In celebration o f Black History Month, the downtown
Portland Nordstrom is showcasing the works o f renowned
and up and coming African-American photographers in a
premiere exhibit called “Love Now," an interpretation o f love
in our times.
The exhibit is a public tribute to the art and talent o f black
professional photographers, and to honor the contributions that
African-Americans have made to society as a whole. The
exhibit will be displayed the entire month o f February.
“ We are excited and honored to feature the work o f these
talented photographers," said Delena Sunday, a Nordstrom
spokesperson.” The photographs are truly a celebration o f life
and the richness diversity brings to our communities."
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those o f all races, creeds and col
ors. W ith in the c h u rc h e s an d
schools, there is no doubt m ore
celebrated diversity than any other
place in society today.
This is truly a m uch m ore w el
com ed sight than it w as in the 18th
and early 19th centuries. Seeing
progress like this gives hope that
the United States will never go back
to w here it w as in term s o f racism
and prejudice in this country.