Page 2 The Skanner October 4, 2017
Bernie Foster
Founder/Publisher
Bobbie Dore Foster
Executive Editor
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News Editor
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Reporter
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Seattle Office Coordinator
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2017
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Opinion
Lessons from Vanport: We Are All Survivors
I
am one of the survivors of
the Vanport Flood. It is with
great appreciation that I am
delighted to read so many
articles, or attend events, that
speak about a city so forgot-
ten.
I feel that this awakening
of Vanport has caused peo-
ple to take a look at this lost
city, wanting to be educated
historically, and listen with
great anticipation the stories
of those that helped write the
pages of history in Vanport.
So I have learned that every
story told is important. Ev-
ery encounter shared, helps
to make the puzzle complete.
And that is why I share my
piece willingly.
There is a passage in the
Bible that helps my story be
told with an understanding.
In 1 Corinthians 13:11 it says,
“When I was a child, I spake as
child, I understood as a child:
but when I became a man, I
put away childish things.” So
when the flood occurred I was
seven-and-a-half years of age.
My family consisted of eight
siblings, and my parents.
Fortunately we were not
at home when the flood hap-
pened. Upon our return, we
dealt with the fact that we
had no home to return to. The
only thing I could think of was
my doll that was somewhere
in the water and the slice of
chocolate cake I didn’t get to
Laura Ann Howard
The Skanner Foundation
Essay Contest Winner
eat. I had no understanding
why my mother was so angry
with me as I wept over my doll
and the cake; after all, I was
only seven.
It’s amazing, because a few
years ago I realized that not
“
I had no un-
derstanding
why my moth-
er was so an-
gry with me
as I wept over
my doll and
the cake
only were we homeless, we
were abandoned in a sense
from our parents. We had
never separated from them,
and now we are staying in
three different places without
our parents, and in the morn-
ing we would have to put the
same clothes back on again.
I was not old enough to un-
derstand losing important
documents, birth certificates,
ALLEN DELAY (1915-2005)
Challenging People to Shape
a Better Future Now
Survivors gather on high ground to watch the destruction of Vanport. May 30,
1948.
pictures, all of our belong-
ings. All we had was each
other. One thing I know for
a fact is we as kids were shel-
tered from all the things that
bought us to Vanport: the life-
style of the city, a place that
was thrown together so fast,
it took the people living there
to make it a home — even hope
in the midst of fear, war, pov-
erty, and racism. the stories
at 76 years old have given me
a sense of pride that at seven I
just didn’t comprehend.
When I think now of Van-
port I am persuaded that
there was a sense of pride that
taught us how to move for-
ward and not get stuck on ig-
norance amidst all the oppo-
sitions we encountered. I am
very blessed that my eyesight
of seeing things at the tender
age of seven was locked into
my memory, and it was not
tarnished by the chaos that oc-
curred Sunday, May 30, 1948.
Although as survivors of
Vanport, we don’t have a color
that identifies the nature of
our experience, what we do
have is a song in our hearts
that we can all blend our voic-
es harmoniously and sing
even though the songs might
be different we yet have one
thing in common: We are
all survivors of the Vanport
Flood.
Lessons From Vanport: Don’t Let History Wash Away
“T
he Black kids live on
the other side of the
river. They commit
crimes.’ This is what
my fourth-grade teacher
taught our class in southwest
Portland. As the only Black
child in the room I remained
silent apologizing for behav-
ior I had never done. This was
as close to learning about Af-
rican Americans in Portland
as I would come.
As the child of immigrants
growing up in a predominant-
ly White neighborhood, I was
force-fed an untrue story and
shame was sewed early into
my identity. Learning about
Vanport now has been akin
to an adopted child finding a
piece of their true identity. I
have a story.
It was 4:17 on May 30, 1948,
when the dike collapsed. Af-
rican Americans and Whites
rushed out of Vanport as the
water levels rose. In one day,
the second largest city in Ore-
gon was destroyed.
But it was a city built on a
flood plan. African Ameri-
cans in search of a better life
in the Northwest were rele-
gated to live in the most dan-
gerous area. This has taught
me the implications of struc-
tural racism — that beyond
working hard, there must be
changes at policy level to ad-
Muyoka Mwarabu
The Skanner Foundation
Essay Contest Winner
vocate for equality for Afri-
can Americans.
The day of the flood, the
Housing Authority of Port-
land told Vanport, “Dikes are
safe at Present. Don’t get ex-
cited.” The sirens only went
off 30 minutes before the city
began to be buried by water.
This has taught me that lies
“
I played soc-
cer at Delta
Park not
knowing I
was kicking a
ball next to a
grave site
are a form of mental oppres-
sion. The lies I was handed in
fourth grade were a continu-
ation of a long legacy of mis-
leading minorities to stunt
their advancement. The story
of Vanport has taught me not
to accept all words as truth
GERALD R. WILLIAMS COLLECTION, OSU ARCHIVES
®
Postcard showing floating buildings in Vanport flood 1948.
and seek out primary sources
for true information.
After the flood waters
erased Vanport, there was a
second coverup. The event
was erased from the Oregon
history books. I remember
learning about The Oregon
Trail, Lewis and Clark, the
Multnomah Indians but I
never heard of Vanport. I
played soccer at Delta Park
not knowing I was kicking a
ball next to a grave site. Port-
land State handed me a degree
with honors and never taught
me that the school was orig-
inally founded as Vanport
College and originally located
in the area that was washed
away 69 years ago.
This has taught me that “his-
tory” is his-story, and as an
African American female, my
story is easily washed away. I
have to record it to tell others
about Vanport.
I now live on a house on a
hill, a recipient of the bene-
fits of another generations
fight against oppression. My
daughter is five, and has just
started kindergarten. When
she reaches fourth grade, she
will be prepared. When the
teacher begins her Oregon
history lesson, she will rise,
head held high and tell the
teacher she would like to give
a presentation on Vanport.
The story of some of the first
African American settlers
in Portland, how hard they
worked, the college that was
built and the flood that de-
stroyed their homes. The sto-
ry of Vanport. She will teach
them her story.