Page 10
Martin Luther King Jr.
2018 special edition
January 10, 2018
Oregon’s Civil Rights Years
Black Pioneers
share exhibit
‘Racing to
Change’
The Oregon Black Pioneers
exhibit “Racing to Change:
Oregon’s Civil Rights Years,”
opens to the public on Mon-
day, the Martin Luther King Jr.
holiday, Jan. 15, at the Portland
Historical Society, downtown.
In celebration of the holiday
and the opening of the exhibit,
admission to the Oregon His-
torical Society museum will be
free for the entire day, from 10
a.m. to 5 p.m.
The showing is a ground-
breaking exhibit and associat-
ed programs about the courage,
struggle and progress of Or-
egon’s black residents during
the civil rights movement
in Oregon in the 1960’s and
1970’s.
photo by Allen Delay/courtesy Oregon Historical Society
Nate Proby of United Minority Workers (right) administers an oath
to Francis Newman during a voters registration drive in 1972 at
the former McDonalds restaurant at Northeast Martin Luther King
Jr. Boulevard and Fremont Street.
The exhibit, on view through
June 24, will engage visitors of
all ages and backgrounds as it
traces how housing and em-
ployment discrimination prac-
tices affected Oregon’s black
populations and spurred the
civil rights movement in Ore-
gon.
Racing to Change showcas-
es an exciting period in Oregon
and national history--while the
1960s and 1970s were filled
with cultural and social up-
heaval, conflict, and change, it
was also an era of celebration,
experimentation, and achieve-
ment for African Americans.
Through the Civil Rights
Movement, young people made
their voices heard, and were
propelled to be catalysts for
change within their communi-
ties. The exhibit also shares
how established, vibrant black
communities held together in
the face of public works fund-
ed demolition of homes and
businesses, disruptive school
integration measures, and other
challenges.
“We hope that visitors to
Continued on Page 12
Our lives
begin to end the
day we become
silent about
things that matter.
--Martin Luther King Jr.