‘We Miss Eddie’
Gunned down and
still unsolved 25
years later
See Local News, page 3
‘City
of
Roses’
Volume XLVIII • Number 19
My People’s
Market
Encore set
for diverse
and vibrant
marketplace
See Metro, page 8
www.portlandobserver.com
Wednesday • May 29, 2019
Established in 1970
Committed to Cultural Diversity
photo by D anny p eterson /t he p ortlanD o bserver
Kayin Talton Davis and Cleo Davis (from left), creators of five major historical markers coming this summer to Northeast Alberta Street, with two of the history makers
featured in the installations, Paul Knauls Sr. and Donna Hammond. The Obelisk-like shaped markers will recognize and celebrate the shared African American history of
the neighborhood.
Bringing Local Black History to Life
Alberta Street art
will tell the stories
by D anny p eterson
t he p ortlanD o bserver
Recognizing Northeast Alberta Street as
central to a shared African American histo-
ry is the intention of a series of art markers
that will soon be unveiled at key intersec-
tions.
Eight foot tall obelisk-shaped markers
will be erected at five locations along the
street this summer and will feature the sto-
ries of eight local African American histo-
ry makers using graphics and text. They
are being designed by husband-and-wife
artist duo Kayin Talton Davis and Cleo Da-
vis. Combined with interactive videos, and
even a play centering on members of the
black community, the entire project will
tell the stories of what made the Alberta
Arts District what it is today.
Creating permanent art that recognizes
where the black community has experi-
enced drastic displacement and erasure is a
necessity, the two artists explained.
The black heritage markers create a link
to a much different Northeast Alberta: One
that saw the rise of gangs and negligent
landlords in its past, but also the ushering
in of a highly successful black community
and African-American based resources and
programs.
“My hope is…it will be evident to all
who travel and live in the Alberta District
that we the Negro, Colored, African-Amer-
ican, Black have had a valuable contribu-
tion to the building of Portland and contin-
ue to do so--despite the obstacles littered
in our path,” said Roslyn Hill, one of the
history makers featured on the markers,
and a local leader affectionately known as
the “Queen of Alberta Street.”
Hill is credited with being one of the
original developers of Alberta as an arts
district in the early 1990s and was hon-
ored by AARP in 2008 as an “Urban Blight
Fighter.”
Other black history makers to be recog-
nized in the art installations include Paul
Knauls Sr., Joe Benjamin, Marnella Mo-
sely, Mitchell Jackson, Angelette Hamil-
ton, Benita Presley, Donna Hammond, Pat
Strickland and Sam Brooks. The markers
will be installed along Alberta at the inter-
sections of 11th, 14th, 17th, 18th, and 24th
avenues, respectively.
C ontinueD on p age 12