La Grande, Oregon--one of the conservative towns in Eastern Oregon[/caption]Carol Forsloff — The South has wonderful traditions of courtesy, decorum, family connections, and a friendly way of greeting people that make people smile. It is, however, a region that remains in the shackles of its past, still struggling to cross the racial divides. But it is not the only place where racial divisions continue and where history put an X on the hearts and minds of people for generations, with Oregon being one of those places that many would not know, or remember, with its own racist past.
Oregon also almost became a slave state. There were loud voices from those who saw the potential of the new frontier, discovered for the country’s expansion by Lewis and Clark, sent by Thomas Jefferson following the purchase of the Louisiana territory, extending to Oregon. The expedition brought a hardy type of folks with rough and tumble ways and also a tradition of using slave labor or cheap labor for expansion. That was particularly true of the gentlemen farmers and the new entrepreneurs, who saw opportunity in the new lands. Those new lands promised a level playing field for the new, bright business man of land and cattle and later railroads and the industrial movement, that also maintained a caste system of color throughout much of the Wild West.
The Oregon County provisional government may have outlawed slavery in 1844 but that was to keep African Americans out of the state and was not a voice of the abolition movement.
When Oregon became a state in 1859, the country was divided North and South. The term Yankee often did not reference the Westerner, but the classic country man was not one dedicated to the expansion of human rights in the new territories. And the restrictions on personal affairs continued until the 1950’s, a time when intermarriage between people of color, including Hawaiians, African Americans, Asians, and Native Americans, was illegal under Oregon law. Miscegenation laws were passed in 1866 and remained until 1951, with a number of legislators opposing the law as "unfair to children"
The problem continues in some places in Oregon. While the spotlight often focuses on the South, the rural areas of Oregon retain its racial divides. Portland, the progressive city that folks point to as modern, upbeat, and environmentally friendly, still has a low percentage of African Americans, and most of these people live in defined districts, areas of the city that have been labeled by color for generations. Only 6.4% of Portland's population is African American. And Bend, Oregon, about a three-hour drive from Portland, is one of the ten cities in the United States with populations over 50,000 with the least population of African Americans at .3%. Folks who visit there notice it is a "very white" city, yet still extol the friendliness of the folks.
There have been pockets of enlightenment and the enlightened, dating back decades. Girls Polytechnic, a technical high school that no longer exists, with the transitions of its once active base in central Portland. Girls came from all over the city to attend the school. African American girls (as it was an all-girls school) were on the rally squad, student council offers and figured into school beauty contests, albeit not the more prominent one at Rose Festival. That has changed, and many of the high schools have integrated May courts and representation at major affairs. But it has been a long, hard road for the rank and file of African Americans who continue to face problems related to the state’s past in many areas of Oregon. And Oregon as a whole is considered enlightened with most people cringing with notions of racial prejudice and looking forward, not behind, when it comes to the advancement of minorities.
Those government officials and humanitarian groups often focus on the South and sections of the Midwest for racial imbalance, but Oregon is one of those areas in need of education and communication on matters of race. It may be green on the outside, but it has conservative areas and its redness in the areas of race continue to haunt a state known for its enlightenment and yet a place that has had its own struggles with race in America.
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