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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 20, 2019)
February 20, 2019 The Skanner BLACK HISTORY EDITION Page 11 Black History PSU’s Black Studies Program Turns 50 By John Kirkland Portland State ifty years ago, fol- lowing the greatest decade of change for African Americans since the Civil War, Port- land State became the first college in the Pacific Northwest to offer a pro- gram in black studies. Over the years, it went from being an exper- imental program to a full-blown department. Now, after a half-centu- ry, it remains unique in the region. While oth- er universities in the Northwest offer courses in ethnic studies or Af- rican American studies, PSU is the only one with a full degree-granting de- partment with the word “Black” in its name. “At the time of our founding, ‘Black’ was a very powerful and polit- ical term,” said depart- ment chair Shirley A. Jackson (below). “It was a way of throwing off the older ways of referenc- ing people who had Black F skin.” An influential assort- ment of students and fac- ulty pushed the idea of starting the program in 1968 and 1969 as part of a wave of other universi- ties around the country doing the same. Portland State — which had just gained university status — approved it as an “ex- periment” on Aug. 22, 1969. “It was deemed experi- mental because it was so new — there was no guar- antee that this would ac- tually be something that would continue to exist,” Jackson said. Charlotte Rutherford, a former civil rights at- torney with the NAACP Legal and Education- al Fund who donated a vast collection of her mother’s Black memora- bilia to the PSU Library, earned her certificate in the program in 1976. She said she took classes from the program — and continues to support it — through her desire to learn “about our histo- Briefs cont’d from pg 6 documentary on Feb. 25 called “Ore- gon’s Black Pioneers,” which explores the largely unknown history of African Americans who have helped shape the state. From fur trappers and explorers, to farmers and merchants, the earliest black Oregonians lived, worked and built communities despite the racist laws of white settlers who tried to force them out. “Oregon’s Black Pioneers” premieres on OPB TV Feb. 25 at 9 p.m. and will be available to watch online at the same time at opb.org/blackpioneers. It is written and produced by Kami Horton and edited by Bruce Barrow. The film is narrated by jazz pianist, composer and educator Darrell Grant. This half-hour Oregon Experience documentary explores the many sto- ries of Black pioneers, including that of Markus Lopeus, the earliest-known person of African descent in the state. He was a sailor who arrived at Tilla- mook Bay in 1788 with merchant sea captain Robert Gray. It is documented that Lopeus died during a dispute with local Native Americans. It features rare historical photo- graphs, primary documents, and ex- pert interviews with: • Gwen Carr, Oregon Black Pioneers organization • Walidah Imarisha, historian and au- thor • Janet Meranda, author • Dr. Darrell Millner, emeritus, Port- land State University • Gregory Nokes, author • Willie Richardson, Oregon Black Pio- neers organization • Dr. Bob Zybach, forester and histori- an OPB is hosting community screening events for “Oregon’s Black Pioneers” across the state. Free and open to the public, the events will feature the docu- ry as Black people both in Oregon and the in the history of the U.S.” “The public school sys- tem then and probably now does little to teach race history and the true story of how Black peo- ple (and other people of color) have contributed to and been treated in this country,” she said. “I always knew there had to be more information than I had been given in school but I had no idea so much information had been suppressed.” Initially, the program focused on the Afri- can American expe- rience, based on what was happening around the country at the time. The few years before its founding saw marches on Washington, D.C. and in the American South, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the assassinations of both Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr., the founding of the Black Panthers in 1966, numer- ous race-fueled riots in American cities, and the mentary and a panel Q&A with special guests. • Portland: February 20, 7 p.m. at the Oregon Historical Society (doors open at 6 p.m.). • Corvallis: February 21, 7 p.m. at the LaSells Stewart Center Construction and Engineering Hall at Oregon State University (doors open at 6:30 p.m.) BPI Hosts Black History Month Book Fair & Cultural Literacy Event Feb. 23 Black Parent Initiative (BPI) is hosting a FREE event for families in celebration of Black History Month and in support of literacy. This is an opportunity for families and the community to come out and enjoy activities, book give- aways, food and drawings. On this day a portion of sales made at any Barnes & Noble using book fair ID# 12368940 will come back to BPI to purchase more culturally specific books to be given away to families in their programs and families in the community. Black Lit is LIT! takes place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 23 at Barnes & Noble Clackamas Town Center, 12000 SE 82nd Ave. This year the theme, Black Lit is LIT! engages families in the exciting ways reading can excel their lives and expe- riences. Partners at OMSI, Portland Chil- dren’s Museum, Portland Community College STEM Center and Playwell TE- Knologies will be providing the STEM stations. Mystique’s Fancy Faces will be adorning attendees with face paint and PACKY Academy will be creating culturally specific works of art with the families. Oregon Black Pioneers to Host 25th Anniversary Lenwood Davis (left), director of the Black Studies Center in the early ‘70s, with Clarence Barry, the first student to earn a certificate in Black Studies at Portland State, from the 1972 Viking yearbook. emergence of the Black Power movement. The program also had the mission of providing assistance and support to Portland’s Black com- munity. “At that time the major- ity of Portland Black res- idents resided in an area known as Albina,” recalls Phil McLaurin, the cen- ter’s first director. “Black Studies offered courses to Albina-area residents at a PSU-funded facility known as Albina Pres- ence, and was actively involved in all issues im- pacting the community residents.” The mission broadened in the ensuing years to include courses on the Black experience in Eu- rope, the Caribbean and Latin America. It added travel opportunities, and next December will of- fer study in Santiago de Cuba and has plans to de- velop a study trip to New York City — probably the most diverse Black population in the United States. The curriculum is mul- tidisciplinary, covering Gala and Fundraiser March 2 Oregon Black Pioneers will host its 25th Anniversary Gala and Fundraiser on Saturday, March 2, 2019, from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. at the World of Speed USA Museum, located at 27490 SW 95th Av- enue, Wilsonville. Join us for a festive evening that will include inspiring words from our spe- cial guest speaker, the Honorable Ore- gon Supreme Court Justice Adrienne Nelson. While admiring historic race cars, boats and motorcycles, you can help Oregon Black Pioneers continue our great work by participating in a paddle raise, and in silent and oral auc- tions featuring artwork by gifted local and nationally known artists such as Bill Rutherford, Mary Volm, Bonnie history, sociology, cul- tural anthropology, lit- erature, film and other fields. Although many believe that only black students take courses in Black Studies, Jackson said it’s really for every- body. “This is a degree that really helps students prepare for working with people in diverse communities, and not just the Black communi- ty,” she said. “It’s about learning to deal with dif- ferences and becoming culturally aware.” Meltzer and Emmett Wheatfall. The Auctions will include a variety of art forms, including poetry, paintings, sculptures and more. Then end the eve- ning by dancing to great music provid- ed by Ocean 503. Cost: $100 per person and $900 for a table of ten Attire: Semi-Formal Please register at https://obp25an- niversarygala.eventbrite.com For more information about the 25th Anniversary Gala: Honoring the Past, Paving the Way to the Future or to pur- chase a sponsorship or ad, please con- tact: Willie Richardson by email at Wil- lie@oregonblackpioneers.org or by telephone at (503) 269-1023 Kim S. Mo- reland by email at Kim@oregonblack- pioneers.org or by telephone at (503) 380-1241.