February 8, 2023
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INSIDE L ocaL N ews
Anniversary of Statehood
Arts &
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ENTERTAINMENT
o piNioN
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February 14 is
Oregon’s 164th
Birthday
Oregon was founded on Feb.
14, 1859. It was the 33rd state
admitted into the union, and in
1860 was home to over 54,000
residents. Today, around 4 mil-
lion people call Oregon home.
In the 1850s, there were no cell
phones or computers. The news
had to travel across the country
from Washington DC, and the
telegraph -- our best technology
at the time -- could only reach as
far as St. Louis. From Missouri,
it traveled by stagecoach to the
west coast. It then traveled by
ship to Portland, and finally a rid-
er rode his horse from Portland to
Salem. It took three days in the
March rain.
When enacted in 1859, Oregon
was the only state in the union
to have an exclusion clause pro-
hibiting African Americans from
living or owning property. The
law was removed from the state
constitution in 1926. The ripples
of the state's racist history are
still felt today, particularly in
Oregon's largest city. This year,
there will be a number of cultur-
al and heritage organizations, as
well as some of Oregon's tribes,
that have provided online activi-
ties and learning opportunities for
the public.
Portland Woman Awarded $1M
In Discrimination Suit
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(AP) — A jury has awarded
an Oregon woman $1 million in
damages after finding she was dis-
criminated against by a gas station
employee who told her, “I don’t
serve Black people.”
The Multnomah County jury’s
award this week to Portland resi-
dent Rose Wakefield, 63, includ-
ed punitive damages of $550,000.
Wakefield’s lawyer, Gregory
Kafoury, said she stopped for
gas at Jacksons Food Store in
Beaverton on March 12, 2020,
and saw the attendant, Nigel Pow-
ers, ignore her and instead pump
gas for other drivers.
When she tried to ask for as-
sistance he said, “I’ll get to you
when I feel like it,” according
to Kafoury.
Attendants are required to
pump fuel for motorists at gas
stations in Oregon’s larger
population centers including
Portland and the nearby sub-
urb of Beaverton.
Surveillance video showed
Wakefield go inside to ask for
help. Another employee fol-
lowed her back outside to pump
her gas. Kafoury said as she was
leaving, Wakefield asked Pow-
ers why he refused to help her
and that he said, “I don’t serve
Black people.”