October 21, 2020
Page 7
Mississippi
Alberta
North Portland
Vancouver
East County
Beaverton
Afro Heritage Quilt Saved
History museum
reopens; cleans
up from violence
The Oregon History Museum re-
opened to the public last week, three
days after windows to the downtown
museum were broken and a historical Af-
rican American quilt was stolen during a
violent protest billed by organizers as
day of “rage” toward Columbus Day.
The Afro American Heritage Bicen-
tennial Commemorative Quilt, created in
the mid-1970s by 15 Black women from
Portland and honoring Black individuals
or moments in history, was taken from
the lobby of the museum during the van-
dalism on Sunday, Oct. 11, but was re-
covered by police in a condition soaked
by rain inside a nearby park, officials
said.
Oregon Historical Society Execu-
tive Director Kerry Tymchuk said the
museum has received an outpouring of
community support in response to the
destruction.
“While windows can be replaced,
our greatest concern has been for the
Afro-American Heritage Bicentenni-
al Commemorative Quilt, which was
taken from its display in our pavilion,”
Tymchuk said. The quilt will remain off
public display for the time being as mu-
seum officials dry out the material and
assess any other care needs. Although it
was wet, the quilt was otherwise intact.
However, there has been color bleed of
the fabric due to moisture, which will
require the attention of conservation spe-
cialists.
Tymchuk said the Oregon Historical
Society understood the significance and
importance of messages of injustice fu-
eling protests in Portland and across the
nation since the killing of George Floyd
by police officers in Minneapolis last
Memorial Day.
He said the OHS museum has demon-
strated its commitment to telling the hon-
est history of Oregon and was dismayed
it got caught up in damages to several
other buildings and businesses on the
night of the protest.
“In 2019, we opened a new corner-
stone exhibition, Experience Oregon,
A photo shows the AfroAmerican Heritage Bicentennial Commemorative Quilt donated to the Oregon Historical
Society that was crafted in the mid 1970s by 15 Black women from Portland. The quilt was stolen and then recov-
ered in a nearby park with water damage after the Oregon Historical Society museum, downtown, was broken into
and vandalized during a Oct. 11 protest sponsors billed as a day of “rage” toward Columbus Day.
in collaboration with many community
partners, including the nine federally rec-
ognized Tribes in Oregon, and the result
demonstrates our commitment to telling
honest Oregon history — the good, the
bad, and the ugly,” Tymchuk said. “We
dedicated the Winter 2019 issue of our
journal, the Oregon Historical Quarter-
ly, to the subject of “White Supremacy
& Resistance,” and in the Summer 2020
issue, we published articles specifically
related to OHS’ history as related to In-
digenous leaders and belongings.”
C ontinued on P age 11