Portland observer., February 10, 2021, Page 5, Image 5

February 10, 2021
Page 5
Documenting Oregon’s Black History
State awards grant
to designate
historical properties
Properties in Oregon related to Black
history will be documented under a new
program to recognize and preserve historic
places throughout the state related to the
African American experience.
The effort was given a recent push thanks
to $30,000 in grant funding to the State His-
torical Preservation Office from the Under-
represented Communities program admin-
istered by the National Park Service.
The project will research historic plac-
es throughout the state related to African
American history and create materials that
can be used as a resource for people preserv-
ing and sharing this important history and
making it is easier to nominate properties to
the National Register of Historic Places.
The state preservation office applied for
the grant in recognition that African Amer-
ican history is present throughout the state,
but it is not well documented or recognized,
officials said.
“Encouraging the representation of Or-
egon’s diverse history within the Nation-
al Register program is a major goal of the
Oregon Preservation Plan,” notes Christine
Curran, Deputy State Historic Preservation
Officer. “This grant will move us forward
in that effort and we are excited to see the
results.”
PhoTo from P orTland b ureau of P lanning s usTainabiliTy
The historic Mt. Olivet Baptist Church is one of the oldest properties in Portland related to the African American experience.
The church’s historic black congregation moved several decades ago to a new location in north Portland, but still owns the old
church site just one block from Northeast Broadway in the Albina community.
A similar project by the city of Portland
and other groups garnered new information
and several listings of historical black prop-
erties within the city. The new project will
expand the reach outside of Portland, offi-
cials said.
The effort also is a continuation of work
over the last several years in collaboration
with Oregon Black Pioneers to document
these places. The state historical preserva-
tion office plans to hire a consultant to com-
plete the project which is also funded in part
by the Oregon Cultural Trust.
People who have information to share
about African American history in their
communities, are encouraged to submit it
though an online tool by visiting MakeOre-
gonHistory.org.