Racial Issues in Grants Pass White City & Medford (Oakland: new home, high school)

[BLAZER PROPHET]

As someone who used to live in that area, I have never ever heard of any KKK office or doings. And I knew so many people there that I think I'd have gotten wind of it.

From what I read, Oregon has a rather bleak history of racial discrimination thru the 1950's. It was never reported and been largley swept under the carpet.

[pirate_lafitte]

Originally Posted by BLAZER PROPHET

As someone who used to live in that area, I have never ever heard of any KKK office or doings. And I knew so many people there that I think I'd have gotten wind of it.

From what I read, Oregon has a rather bleak history of racial discrimination thru the 1950's. It was never reported and been largley swept under the carpet.

There was also a race riot in Portland in 1967 in the Albina district, but few people know about this. Everyone knows about Watts, Detroit, Newark, Chicago(the main ones), but there was a riot in Portland too. I think the fact that there were riots of a much bigger scale in those areas kind of kept Oregon from gettinh any attention, so Oregon was able to sweep things under the rug because of it's relatively(keyword relatively) remote location and the violence of other places getting attention. Think about this: Newark is a short distance from New York, big media market, and the other cities like Chicago and Watts(LA) were in big media markets anyway. Detroit was in between two media markets and Detroit was already on the map for the auto industry, so those cities got alot of attention for their locations near major media markets. Portland is very far away from LA and there are other cities to get to(San Francisco, Oakland). Those cities had their own disturbances. Portland, being all the way up there(only Seattle is further north) and there is no major population between there and San Francisco of its magnitude, Portland had relatively little attention.

[LucasMetaphor]

Originally Posted by bigwhite

Let me tell ya. Inglewood CA had a Sun Downer law in the 1950's. Inglewood is one of the most afluent Black Cites in California now. So i really don't think any city in the U.S. would still recognize such a thing. Not even in the South.

Is the Grants Pass area then like the movie Deliverance?

[bigwhite]

Originally Posted by LucasMetaphor

Is the Grants Pass area then like the movie Deliverance?

Maybe its more like Pulp Fiction.

[bluebird39]

Nowhere is like the movie Deliverance. It's a MOVIE! When I moved to Oregon from Louisiana, everyone brought that d*** movie up and asked me about it. I'd say most folks in Oregon have just as crazy notions about the South as the South does about Oregon.

IMO Grants Pass is a gem. It's a great place to raise a family. When I worked there it was small enough to still feel a sense of community there, but large enough to have plenty of services and city amenities. it's always been less expensive than Medford. One problem with Medford is that with Ashland being so close, they seem to depend on Ashland for arts, good restaurants... the "culture stuff". GP is far enough away from both places to have it's own identity. It's beautiful there. People are no different there than anywhere else.

[FVWinters]

Originally Posted by LucasMetaphor

Is the Grants Pass area then like the movie Deliverance?

Some of the scenery, maybe. The Siskyous in S.W. Oregon bear a superficial resemblence to the Smokies and southern Appalachains. Otherwise not very much. All of the larger towns and cities have regional or national chain grocery stores, Lumber and hardware outlets, auto dealerships, clothing storeas, hospitals and clinics and so on. I know nothing of the state of public education in Oakland (or Las Vegas) but students graduating from high schools here do as well (or slightly better) beyond 12th grade, generally, as those from California (or Nevada).
Now as for relocation there are some things to consider:
If your Oakland congregation tires of winter rains by early March, I'm afraid I have some bad news. The Grant's Pass area has the sunniest climate in all of western Oregon but that still means nearly daily rains from early November clear to mid April. OTOH, the hills and vegetation don't turn brown suede until well past the time everything in central California has gone dormant. Southwestern Oregon is very scenic and such attractions as Crater Lake and the Oregon Caves are not that far away.
You mentioneed 100 families. The economy isn't doing all that well so I am not confident the area can support enough jobs for all of the newcomers who need them. OTOH, if you congregation is mostly retireees, have other independant income, can telecommute or have jobs already lined up you'll find the cost of living far easier to bear here in the Rogue Valley than in either Oakland or Las Vegas.
Do you already have a building or two in mind? Or do you plan to start from scratch? A check with real estate guides may help here.
One disadvantage to moving to the relative isolation of southwest Oregon is the pace of life is a good deal slower here. OTOH, one of the benefits of moving to the relative isolation of southwest Oregon is the pace of life is a good deal slower here. Also note the largest city in the southwest corner of our state is Medford and at some 70000 people is only a fraction of the size of the nearly 1 million living in Clarke County or the 2.5 mil in the Bay area. The nearest Oakland-sized city would be Portland at some 270 miles away. Oh, did I mention the next to nothing incidence of violent crime and traffic problems here?
Do you and/or your congregation like the beach? If so, the drive there from Grants Pass is a bit arduous but it is beautiful and once there, you have public access to all of the nearly 350 miles of Oregon coastline.

There is always a concern when moving to an entirely new environment with how you and yours will be recieved. There is an African American presence in all of southwest Oregon's largest communities but it is very faint. You won't be alone but you also won't be able to lose yourselves in a crowd, either. Your congregation (and yourself?) will essentially be pioneers. I have been to and lived in all over America and based on what I have seen, I will hazard a guess and say that you and yours will have no difficulty integrating in whichever community(ies) you decide to settle.

[Terryj]

I grew up in Grants Pass in the 60's, didn't have any African Americans in school at that time, at least not that I can remember. Allot has changed, there are a number of African Americans living in Grants Pass with no problems due to race. I would classify GP as more of a moderate town in its political views. Some conservatives and some liberals, but all in all the majority of the population are middle of the road. The city of Grants Pass and the county of Josephine is suffering a huge economic problem with the reduction of the ONC funds. Grants Pass is a nice community with a very diverse population.

[LucasMetaphor]

Originally Posted by Terryj

I grew up in Grants Pass in the 60's, didn't have any African Americans in school at that time, at least not that I can remember. Allot has changed, there are a number of African Americans living in Grants Pass with no problems due to race. I would classify GP as more of a moderate town in its political views. Some conservatives and some liberals, but all in all the majority of the population are middle of the road. The city of Grants Pass and the county of Josephine is suffering a huge economic problem with the reduction of the ONC funds. Grants Pass is a nice community with a very diverse population.

That is very encouraging to know Terry. I am the Financial Adviser for several Black Christian & Muslim Churches in the California and Las Vegas Area and they have decided upon Grants Pass Oregon as their potential new home.

One church has been describing the move as an Exodus to Grants Pass and if their plan holds together there could be 1000's of these wonderful people relocating to Grants Pass. They all have the most wonderful and wholesome families and I do believe they would be an asset to the community!

[ReturningWest]

I was raised in Oregon and being part native american I'm here to tell you that there was and still are racial issues.

[Nell Plotts]

Going back many years, Medford used to be regarded as a sundown town for Blacks. Ashland had a completely different culture.

Lots of things have changed since the 60s. However, given the low representation of Blacks in Oregon, southern Oregon in particular, know that you will stand out. I know an executive for a Fortune 500 company who was transferred to central Washington, then moved back to the SE, not because she wasn't treated well, she said she was treated TOO well. She said that she and her husband just stood out too much. When she had a flat tire driving out to the plant several people stopped to help. Being the center of attention made her uncomfortable.

I don't know Grants Pass so I can't discuss their community culture. However, if I were to reside in that area and the commute wasn't too much, I would choose Ashland. [I am not Black.]