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Portland Observer
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‘City of Roses’
Volume XLV
Number 49
A Place for
All People
Police
Conduct Probe
Exhibit gives
peak inside black
history museum
Arrests of activist
leaders called
retaliatory
See Metro, page 11
See Local News, page 3
www.portlandobserver.com
Wednesday • December 7, 2016
Established in 1970
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Photo by M ark W ashington J r ./t he P ortland o bserver
Longtime Northeast Alberta Street business owner Roslyn Hill (left) of the Tin Shed Garden Café, and Sara Wittenberg, executive director of the Alberta Main Street
organization, promote a new African American legacy markers project.
Alberta Main Street
markers to honor
black community
C hrista M C i ntyre
t he P ortland o bserver
A history markers project to recognize
and celebrate the contributions of African
Americans in Portland and on Northeast
Alberta Street in particular has taken
shape as a local business and community
group tries to rebuild fractioned relation-
ships and work together to strengthen a
diverse city.
Alberta Street is ground zero for a
Portland community that has been trans-
formed by an influx of new commercial
and residential investments over the past
two decades, but one that has also left
many people behind, especially for mem-
bers of the black community and other
disadvantaged residents.
Sara Wittenberg, the executive direc-
by
Rebuilding
Trust
tor of Alberta Main Street, is leading an
organization that promotes a vibrant and
creative but also equitable community.
“Too often, I hear accounts from long-
time African American residents that Al-
berta Street doesn’t feel like home any-
more or that they don’t feel welcome on
the street. I understand that this project on
its own can’t reverse decades of discrimi-
nation and disinvestment. But, I hope it is
a step in the right direction and that over
time we can begin to rebuild fractured re-
lationships and collectively work together
to strengthen our community,” Wittenberg
said.
She acknowledges that promises for
inclusion have been heard before by the
black community.
“There are skeptics and we want to hear
that,” Wittenberg said. “But we want to do
this project right. We want to do it better.”
Last month, Alberta Main Street an-
nounced a contest to collect stories for
historical markers which will be added to
the street to document the history of the
African American community.
These won’t be your typical bronze
plaques with a name and a date. Winners
will work closely with artists to create
permanent markers, which could be any-
thing from a sculpture or a mosaic in the
sidewalk. The goal is also to have African
American artists and fabricators involved
in the work, as well.
The Alberta Main Street Legacy Proj-
ect was developed to celebrate the deep
roots of the neighborhood and create
spaces which bring the stories and history
to life.
Last year the group kicked off a com-
munity check-in called “Honoring Our
Past, Planning Our Future.” During
the gatherings, many historically un-
der-served and under-represented stake-
holders shared that they have not benefit-
ed from the changes on Alberta Street.
Kenya Budd, who works on equity and
C ontinued on P age 14