BLACK HISTORY MONTH http://www.portlandobserver.com QR code for Portland Observer Special Edition Volume XLIV N um b er 8 ‘City of Roses’ mreei/ears befoe in Oregon L' www.portlandobserver.com Wednesday • February 19, 2014 ' e,lectS On hlsi ° umey <° an(1e bench of justice at the federal ^ i ^ J ^ ^ P ^ a ^ d . ' B ^ ' h v T r ^ r t ' ' ' “ devastating flood wiped out the city, Haggerty rose to become both the first African-American federal judge and the first black circuit court judge Drawing to a Final Verdict Ancer L. Haggerty reflects on journey to and from the bench D onovan M. S mith T he P ortland O bserver by Judge Ancer L. Haggerty seems to prefer to let his distinctions and accomplishments shine for themselves. The journey that saw him go from just another face in the Marines to making history as both the first African- American federal judge and first black circuit court judge in Oregon was not necessarily what he envi­ sioned for him self early on. H aggerty cam e up in a Portland that was deep in transition; he was only 3-years-old when the storied V anport projects were com pletely w ashed away by a M em orial Day flood in 1948. T he d isa ste r forced him along w ith his p aren ts and th o u san d s o f other b lack s w ho liv ed in the d ev elo p m en t into the seg reg ated n eig h b o rh o o d s o f north and northeast Portland. As many of the Vanport survivors began to settle into homes in other parts of town, their children were integrated into schools that were primarily white. Haggerty was a student at Woodlawn School and later Jefferson High School during the 1950s and 60s, both majority white at the time. While he recalls being conscious of these realities, to him it w asn’t that big a deal.” Instead he focused on his studies. A fter graduating from Jefferson he set off to the U niversity of O regon where h e’d earn his B achelor’s D egree in 1967. He would swap the ‘‘green and continued on page 4