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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (May 24, 2017)
‘City of Roses’ In the Eye of the Storm Terrorism in England Plays speaking to issues of displacement Deadly bombing at Grande concert See Metro, page 9 See story, page 2 Established in 1970 www.portlandobserver.com Wednesday • May 24, 2017 Volume XLVI • Number 21 Committed to Cultural Diversity Explore the Vanport Mosaic Festival brings history to life C hrista M C i ntyre t he p ortland o bserver The Vanport Mosaic Festival is a celebration to ex- plore, educate and remember the history and impact of those who lived and died in a community that was de- stroyed by floodwaters 69 years ago this month while also illuminating stories of struggle and resilience that illuminate Portland’s African American history. A large line up of events told through film, theater and historical exhibits are planned for this Memorial Day weekend beginning on Friday, May 26 and con- tinuing through Monday, May 29. The second annual festival is collaboration between artists, churches, ed- ucators and community groups who have worked for years to preserve the memory of this lost city. The festival presents a thoughtful, thorough and fresh look at one of Oregon’s most tragic events while also exploring issues of housing discrimination, migra- tion and displacement that continue today. Vanport, a combination of the names Vancouver and Portland, was built in 110 days, was the second largest city in Oregon for five years, and destroyed in less than one day. The town was created as a short term answer to a 1943 housing crisis that was brought on by thousands of people moving to Portland to work in the shipyards during World War II. It was the largest war-time hous- ing development in the United States. The population at its height was 42,000 with residents who came from 46 of the then 48 states. The migration of people to work building liberty ships swelled the African American population of Ore- gon by five fold. One-third of Vanport’s population was black and represented the largest migration of black res- idents to Oregon up to that time. Though the walls of Vanport’s buildings were not built to last, the city left an incredible legacy. Vanport was uniquely designed to serve both black and white residents as an integrated community where residents went to the same schools, community centers, movie theater and stores. Vanport College which later became Portland State University was built for and first served homecoming veterans who lived in Vanport. It was the students and teachers of the school who sent out an emergency warn- ing to residents to flee the flood of May 30, 1948, when a levee broke and a ten foot wall of water from the Co- lumbia River began to swell. There was little time for people to reach safety. The by C ontinued on p age 5 photo by C hrista M C i ntyre /t he p ortland o bserver Marge Moss, a former resident of Vanport had a positive experience living in the city as a child. of Memories Vanport Survivor recalls flood and the aftermath C hrista M C i ntyre t he p ortland o bserver Marge Moss, a retired nurse and former employee at the Urban League of Portland, has been involved with the Van- port Mosaic Festival since its inception last year. She was 12 when her family moved from the small town of Tallulah, Louisiana, to Vanport in 1944. Both of her par- ents worked in the shipyards and her father made extra mon- ey on Saturdays by giving haircuts for 25 cents a person. Her father, Ural Pete Moss was a church deacon at Vanport and also at the Vancouver Avenue First Baptist Church, one of the Portland area’s historic African American congregations. by On some Sundays after church, Moss and her family went to Vanport’s popular 750 seat movie theater. The family made a home in a standard Vanport apartment on a street called Broadacres, close to Denver Avenue. For Moss, who had lived most of her life in the South, Vanport was a positive and eye opening experience. In the South, where segregation and Jim Crow Laws imposed a social and economic rule akin to the vestiges of slavery, Vanport offered the young Moss the experience of acceptance for all races. At school, in the community centers, grocery stores and movie theater people could move and sit where ever they liked. In an interview with the Portland Observer, Moss remem- bered her Vanport interactions as riendly. No one had to sit at the back of the bus and no one had to drink from a designated C ontinued on p age 4