Portland's Golden West Hotel Survival Paradox

——– Original Message ——–

Jeff, OPB & Others =
As for what I seek is just recognition. My perceptions of Golden West Project (an unorganized organization) has thus far been that of a catalyst. This also is perception of many in the community. I have recently became aware of the efforts of OPB to release “Local Color” that has been in the works for a few years, but the priority of this wasn’t all that high. Just last week, to my surprise, in City Hall Chambers the name Will Bennett was associated with the re-release and distribution of OPB’s documentary “Local Color” along with some history of it’s production. I was grateful. And all this will be well documented through audio, video, and perhaps print as a matter of city record-as a matter of history.

To conclude, what ever my involvement let it be stated in such a manner as you’ve indicated and is appropriate for OPB. My timing has been great, for many things has come together in a wonderful whole to reclaim our local African-American history. As a result, washing away the whitewashed history of Portland & Oregon.

peace
will b

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Jeff Douglas wrote:

Hello Will,

I think I’m on the mend. Thanks for asking.

I’m not sure what you want in an “official statement”. OPB is reluctant to officially endorse the Golden West project because we have no first hand knowledge about your mission, your accountability for funds, etc.

For several years, OPB had been interested in clearing the rights to “Local Color” so this program could not only be broadcast but also made available to schools, libraries and for sale. Because Jon Tuttle died, it took some difficult detective work to not only find out what rights were missing but also to locate the holder of those rights. It was fortunate for both of us that you became aware of the program close to the time that we finally were able to clear the rights and you have done much to get the word out about the program. We appreciate your advocacy. But it’s not accurate to say that we wouldn’t have done this without your encouragement. As I say we’ve been working on this for a couple of years.

I would be happy to acknowledge your help in spreading the word about this quality program and having it shown but I don’t think I can offer much more than that. However I certainly wish you every success.

OPB Program Director Mary Gardner has indicated an interest in re-airing local color perhaps connected to a run of “Oregon Expereince” programs next February. We’ll try to keep you in the loop about the rebroadcast date.

Jeff

Jeff Douglas
Senior VP & Station Manager
OPB-TV

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WILL BENNETT <GOLDEN-WEST-PROJECT@AFRICAN-AMERICAN-HISTORICAL-DISTRICT.COM> writes:
Jeff =
Again We thank you…..
I hope your health matter is improving, with that said….
It’ be nice if I could get an official statement from OPB that expresses the below….This will Help Golden West Project a great deal to carry on it’s mission/endeaver/purpose etc……
peace
will b.

Subject: FW: [Libs-Or] FW: OPB documentary “Local Color”
Date: Wed, 6 Aug 2008 18:20:42 -0700
From: ELDER Abigail
To:

Message
Will– just wanted to let you know that OPB has given me 100 copies of the DVD to distribute to Oregon public libraries (my message to libraries is below.) We are adding nine copies to Multnomah County Library and keeping one additional copy to show at programs.

OPB provided a limited license that allows libraries to show the film to the public, so I hope that some libraries will take advantage of that option.

Congratulations to you on the release of this DVD. The person at OPB said that your persistence is what made this project a reality.

-abigail/ central library

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—–Original Message—–
Sent: Wednesday, August 06, 2008 5:49 PM
To: libs-or@listsmart.osl.state.or.us
Subject: [Libs-Or] FW: OPB documentary “Local Color”

Hello! Oregon Public Broadcasting has generously donated 100 copies of the documentary “Local Color” to be distributed to public libraries throughout the state. First aired in 1991, this is the first time the documentary has been publicly available. A limited license agreement allows for public showings of the documentary.

From the OPB website: “This 1991 OPB documentary chronicles the little known history of racism in Oregon and the moving story of people, both black and white, who worked for civil rights. Jon Tuttle was a news reporter in Portland for most of his life but said he was unaware of much of this history until late in his career. He set out to document the story but found he was almost too late as some of the important participants had died and others were getting on in age. Local Color is the story of black Oregonians and their struggle for equality told by the people, both black and white, who lived the history. But there are moments of highly disturbing racism in a state not known for racial diversity. But there are also moments of inspiration and courage as people take a stand to bring about important change. Without this historic documentary, many of these stories, from some of the state’s best people might have been lost and forgotten.”

If you would like copies to add to your public library, please send an email to me at abigaile@multcolib.org with your library, address and how many copies you would like.

abigail elder, central library
801 sw 10th avenue
portland, or 97205
503.988.5472
aim: mclabigail

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Will:

Please don’t fall on your sword over details. You have made this project happen & your involvement is very important to me and others. I don’t like committees, either. For the sake of the so-important history, I hope you will hang in there.

Thanks very much and my great compliments on your tenacity (often a rare quality) –

Cathy Galbraith

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SEE ATTACH….

As this story unfolds and as you will see that there’s a need for better Ethnic History-Keeping—history of the Golden West Historic Display. This story will conclude with why Central City Concern/Control became aware that there was a grant to be had, and why Golden West Project reluctantly brought the proposal to them. Bear with me….

When I began the Golden West Project in Feb. 2006 I was then contacted my City Planning they were excited that I was concerning myself with matters of Old Town’s African-American History, For no one else was or had been in quite awhile. I knew I was on the right track. SEE ATTACH…..

Please note I was being put off my CCC with promising that they were going to be doing something very, very, very soon. 2 1/2 years I was being told this in their typical type of jargon ( have all the emails to this effect). The display itself being in neglect for nearly 18 years. I blame both CCC & the African-American Community for this.
Stay Tuned….
peace

will b.

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Jennifer Gates wrote:

Will – We are sorry to hear that you are resigning from the Advisory Committee. We’re glad to hear your interest and support of the project will continue. You can always be proud of being the earliest and foremost person with the vision that the display could be expanded and improved. Please keep us posted and stay in touch.

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Central City Concern, a.k.a Central City Control =
I no longer wish for me, my name, nor Golden West Project to be associated with the Golden West Historic Display Advisory Committee. I still do support the project but I must do it in my own ways & my own methods….
If there’s need for more of the whys and the how comes let me know….
I don’t like Committees & at times don’t like to even hear the word Committees
peace
will b.

GoldenWestProject

– preserves, perpetuates, promotes and integrates african-american heritage & culture in the pacific northwest –

“I’ll Take You There”

African-american-historical district.com

African-Americans of heritage in Portland & more…

‘Wasthemostracistcity’

We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future. –George Bernard Shaw

If in our daily life we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we, but everyone will profit from it. This is the most basic kind of peace work. –Thich Nhat Hanh

August 26, 2008
Hello,
As you know, the Golden West building is one of the oldest remaining landmarks of African American history in Portland. Central City Concern purchased and renovated the building in 1989, and recently took full ownership. For the past 18 years, the Golden West has served countless homeless and mentally ill people. A year ago CCC undertook a number of renovations to the building. We earmarked $4000 to restore the historic display that faces Everett Street sidewalks. When the Visions in Action grant program became known, CCC contacted Old Town History Project Director Jackie Peterson who helped us put together an application. In June, CCC received a $9250 VIA grant. The combined funds, plus in-kind labor contributions primarily by CCC, will allow us to restore and improve the exhibit panels and to also add two new display windows on the Broadway side of the building. The major goal is to convey the vibrancy of the African American neighborhood around the Golden West in the early part of the 20th century.

We are honored to invite you to serve on an Advisory Committee for this project restoring and expanding the historic display. The Advisory Committee will be a diverse group of approximately 10 persons with representation from the African American community, from the local neighborhood, and from CCC. Those invited include:

Richard Harris, Advisory Committee=project director-Executive Director Emeritus of CCC
Jackie Peterson, PhD, Advisory Committee=project historian and curator-Historian specializing in America’s social and Multi-Ethnic history. Curator for multiple exhibits. Founder of the Old Town History Project.
Cathy Galbraith, Advisory Committee=project historical consultant-Director of the Bosco Milligan foundation for architectural preservation; knowledgeable about African American history in Portland.
Bing Sheldon, Advisory Committee=SERA is donating design services-Principal with SERA Architects and board member of the Old Town History Project.
Jennifer Gates, Advisory Committee=administrative project manager for the project-CCC housing development coordinator.
Dick Bogle, Advisory Committee=His grandfather ran the barber shop at the Golden West Hotel in its heyday. The barber’s daughter-in-law, Katherine Bogle, was the prime author of the original historic display.
Darrell Millner, PhD, Advisory Committee=Professor of history at PSU, Black Studies Dept. with specialty in African American history.
Billy Anfield, Advisory Committee=CCC WorkForce Employment Mentor; his forbearers lived in the neighborhood of the Golden West Hotel.
Bill Hart, Advisory Committee=Principal with Carlton Hart Architects which did renovation work on the Golden West recently.
Will Bennett, Advisory Committee=Community Practitioner. His “Golden West Project” is one of the ‘Partners and Friends’ of the City of Portland’s Vision-Into-Action (VIA) program which awarded us a grant.
Michael Chappie Grice, Advisory Committee=Co-Founder of World Arts Foundation Inc. Helped create the original historic display at the Golden West Hotel in 1990.
As a volunteer for this committee, we hope you’ll do the following:
*Attend two meetings to review the proposed content of the historic display;
*Help make the ‘unveiling’ event a success;
*Help publicize the exhibit to schools, history groups, community groups, etc.

Please confirm your willingness to serve on this committee. Our first meeting will be late September or early October. Please let us know if there are time you’d be unavailable to meet.
Thanks,
Richard L. Harris & Jennifer Gates
Central City Concern

——– Original Message ——–

The “Negro Question” and Oregon Politics

An exhibit by the Oregon State Archives – Copyright © 2007

Education – Portland Public Schools may add the book to the new social studies curriculum for eighth-graders
From The Oregonian
Monday, May 12, 2008
KIMBERLY MELTON
The Oregonian Staff

Portland Public Schools is poised to adopt a new curriculum today, making the district the first in the state to use a textbook exploring Oregon’s racial history.

“This is not your traditional Oregon history kids may have learned in social studies class in fourth grade,” said Marcia Arganbright, district director of curriculum and instruction.

“Beyond the Oregon Trail: Oregon’s Untold History” is one of four books recommended for eighth-grade social studies classes.

Arganbright said the district did not seek out a curriculum that dealt with racism but found that “Beyond the Oregon Trail” accomplished the district’s major goals: highlighting Oregon history and analyzing various perspectives of historical events and issues.

It took the book’s three authors nearly a year to take a topic that makes most adults uncomfortable and create language and content to suit the 13-year-old intellect and emotional maturity.

Each chapter in the 10-unit book for teachers starts with several pages of notes, advice and guidelines on building ground rules, safe spaces for conversation and relationships with students. And each lesson introduces students to vocabulary words such as empathy, bias, racism and privilege. The lessons are mainly divided into experiences of minority groups such as Native Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans and Latinos.

Some of the lesser-known historical facts could provoke strong feelings and discussion.

For example: After slavery was declared illegal in Oregon in 1844, residents passed the “Lash Law” requiring African Americans to be whipped twice a year until they left the state.

That law was changed in 1862 to charge African Americans, Chinese, Hawaiians and multiracial people an annual tax of $5 to live in the state. In today’s terms, that would be asking primarily unskilled workers to pay an annual tax of $770.

“We had to create a safe space to talk about this so everyone leaves with their dignity intact,” said Shauna Adams, co-author, consultant and trainer on cultural competence. “We wanted to make sure it wasn’t blaming language, but we have to be willing to look at the ways we can participate in bias, even unknowingly. That’s something young people can understand if we offer it up to them in ways they can hear it.”

The concept for the book was created by Oregon Uniting, a community group that worked to initiate dialogue about race in Oregon. The group received a grant to create a curriculum to foster understanding and acceptance of different ethnic groups and help teachers and students acknowledge the state’s past racial injustices and their impact on local communities.

Keisha Edwards, co-author, said they compiled pieces of the state’s complex history with a unique mission in mind.

“A lot of multicultural curriculum has dealt with celebrating differences,” said Edwards, a consultant and curriculum developer for the Northwest Regional Education Laboratory. “We had the element of going beyond celebrating differences, past that to the place where the rub is — the racism, sexism, classism, homophobia. Oregon Uniting was willing to go that extra step to push people to examine the biases that affect them and provide a healing opportunity.”

Oregon Uniting is primarily known for bringing more than 800 people to the state Capitol in 1999 for a statewide Day of Acknowledgment. The ceremony coincided with the 150th anniversary of the exclusionary act that made it illegal for “Negroes and mulattos” to live in the old Oregon Territory.

In 2004, Oregon Uniting merged with another organization to form Uniting to Understand Racism, a nonprofit that promotes awareness and understanding of racism through education and conversation.

Sheila Griffie, executive director of Uniting to Understand Racism, said the new curriculum sprang from the organization’s dialogues on racism with community groups and corporations.

“There was an awareness among adults, but there still needed to be a level of education,” Griffie said. “The school curriculum is a history that gives young people a more full picture of what Oregon is about. . . . It’s not just Lewis and Clark.”

During a period of 188 years, federal and Oregon governments passed more than 30 laws that discriminated against individuals based solely on their ethnicity. The new curriculum examines how these laws reflected the stereotypes and biases of the day and how they had a lasting impact on today’s communities of color. The writers’ used standards from the National Association for Multicultural Education to help focus the text and its themes.

Joyce Harris, executive director of the Maryland-based association, said the adoption of material such as “Beyond the Oregon Trail” would be an important step in debunking the idea that truth and history come from only one source.

“If we think of truth as being the sum of multiple perspectives, then we get a more accurate picture of history and a more accurate, equitable and just picture of today,” Harris said. “Then, hopefully, the actions of the future will be equitable, just and nonviolent.”

With board approval, district officials will start developing course guidelines for teachers. The eighth-grade main text, “History Alive!,” would be used in conjunction with “Beyond the Oregon Trail” and two other textbooks. All four texts would be part of the district’s primary social studies curriculum in fall 2009.

Kimberly Melton: 503-294-5938; kimmelton@news.oregonian.com
©2008 Oregonian

Uniting to Understand Racism

From the Urban League of Portland/Events

Annual Meeting on June 17th, 2008If you have ever wondered about the history of African-American people in Portland, read papers by talented OSU students Andrew Seher and Meaghan Josh, who wrote award-winning papers on the history of the Urban League in Portland in the 1960s. Also, check out OSU’s digital collection of Urban League historic photographs, part of their multicultural archives.

Honorees, Andrew Seher and Meaghan Josh