But what about the black people? (Portland, Gresham: neighborhood, school district, living in)

[Leisesturm]

Karlsch is correct that the 'low' representation of blacks in the western half of the country is not due to racist laws but I believe that the availability of 'low-skilled' jobs was as great, if not greater, out west than in built up New York, Philadelphia, etc. A more obvious theory would be that decades before slavery actually ended there were two streams of black people coming out of the south along what is now the I75 corridor and along the I95 corridor. The Underground Railroad established these paths to freedom for black people and when slavery ended the vast majority of black people in the U.S. simply stayed where they were and the relative few that left did so to areas directly north of the slave states of the south-east. Still, I have to observe that in general, even when viewing media representation of areas of the U.S. which feature a rich diversity of human population that diversity is often not documented. In other words I've never seen a difference between Portland or New York as to the presence or lack of of people of color just from pictures. I was not prepared at all for the number of black people I have seen since being here given the majority opinion that there isn't any diversity in Oregon. Just how diverse do you imagine Montana is? North Dakota? Wyoming? New York?! Philadelphia?! Just because NYC packs all its blacks into tiny areas of the five boroughs and even tinier ghetto's in the upstate areas does not mean that overall New Yorks black population is much more than Oregons! And if you couldn't tell, I am black and no, I cannot find 'Just For Men' in Jet Black here in Hillsboro but that isn't saying much because I couldn't find it in Hoboken, NJ either.

H

[Nell Plotts]

During WWII the shipyards recruited many Black employees to the Portland/Vancouver area. After the end of the war some returned to their community of origin, others stayed. Except for the shipyards and a couple steel mills Portland offered little in the way of employment in heavy industry, good paying jobs. Frankly Portland was not known as a Mecca of economic opportunity for anyone.

Before WWII many Blacks in the area worked for railroads. Some Blacks came over the Oregon Trail in the 1800s. There is a story in my family that one of my ancestors brought a young Black lady with them over the Trail to help with the children. After the family arrived the lady was lonely and asked to return to her family in MO, and she did. There weren't many Blacks who were able to make the journey as MO was still a slave state and the OR Territory was not. There is a report of a highly regarded Black blacksmith in the Wmt Valley in the WPA pioneer interviews.

Was there different treatment, yes. My mother told me that when she was on the Chapman PTA in the early 40s the Portland Hotel refused to serve a member of their group who was Black. The group told the hotel to serve her just like the rest of the group or they would all stand up and walk out in mass and create fuss. They were all served and never had a problem again. Taking that kind of stand against segregation and different treatment was not unusual. My husband told me of his Portland Scout group going to the national Jamboree in the 50s. At one stop a restaurant refused to serve a Black Scout. The whole group walked out and emptied the place... leaving a stunned merchant with orders in progress but no diners.

[Rockmysawks]

It is very shocking going to different cities out west, like Portland. I was out there last year and I don't know if I saw a black person the entire time. According to a 2006 census there are 70,314 blacks in the state of Oregon, while in Cleveland, where I live there are 235,275 blacks.

[Nell Plotts]

Yes Cleveland is different than Portland. After WWII Cleveland had a great industrial economy - it lasted until the 70s as I recall. To say it isn't good now would be an understatement. I have friends who live there, one a lawyer the other a physician - both sent their kids to private schools. Beautiful homes are CHEAP. However, living is a struggle for all but highly skilled/professionals.

If you didn't see any Blacks in Portland you probably weren't paying attention. While there are a couple neighborhoods with a higher % than others, but in general they are well disbursed across the metro area. There are many mixed marriages at the professional level. Yes there are racist individuals but their opinions carry no weight, in fact they are typically looked down upon.

A story from my childhood: When I was about 8 years old the person who delivered our newspaper changed. She had lived in military dependents housing with us during WWII. When I asked my mother where she went Mom said that she had moved away and talked to me about Portland's Black community. I stared at her and said, "She isn't Black!!" Mom gently said, "Yes she is but you don't remember because that didn't matter to you.. what mattered to you is that she is a wonderful person." We notice what is important.

[John Shaft]

And this is one of the reasons that us folks who have come from diverse areas snicker when some of the locals fervently tout how "diverse" the area is. Maybe diverse compared to eastern Oregon.

[Nell Plotts]

John, diversity includes Asians, Hispanics and Native Americans too. When I have traveled to the mid-west those populations are relatively (to us) absent.

The Portland MSA is more diverse (has a higher % of minorities) than other other Oregon or SW Washington cities.

I agree Portland Metro does not look like San Francisco, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Detriot, or Cleveland. They are each special in their own way.

[oldtintype]

Originally Posted by Nell Plotts

John, diversity includes Asians, Hispanics and Native Americans too.

Not to mention gay people or people with disabilities. I think people get stuck on racial diversity only, which obviously is a big part of diversity but not the only part. Portland is more diverse than a lot of places but not more diverse than most big cities, which is what I think people focus on. Since I've been here things have changed a lot in terms of diversity, though no, it's still far from places like San Francisco where whites are a minority. But then, places like San Francisco aren't the norm exactly either when you compare the entire country.

[John Shaft]

Originally Posted by Nell Plotts

John, diversity includes Asians, Hispanics and Native Americans too. When I have traveled to the mid-west those populations are relatively (to us) absent.

The Portland MSA is more diverse (has a higher % of minorities) than other other Oregon or SW Washington cities.

I agree Portland Metro does not look like San Francisco, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Detriot, or Cleveland. They are each special in their own way.

Actually I "included" Hispanics in my consideration, because up here people see 3 Latinos and conclude the invasion has begun. IIRC Portland is the second whitest (large) city in America behind Salt Lake. I'm not slamming the city; it evolved how it did and that's that. What amuses me, though, is the continuous claims to this massive diversity that doesn't really exist, and that the races all get along famously - of course it seems that way when its 90% one race.

[Bendite]

Originally Posted by SeeBee

I was commiserating awhile back with another CD member who lives clear in Michigan (or Minnesota). We've both been searching in vain for a proper Jewish deli - no such thing out here. (I'm hungry).

Have you tried Kenny & Zukes delicatessen on SW Stark? www.kennyandzukes.com

I'm not from the East Coast and I'm not Jewish, but Bon Appetit magazine has it listed in this month's issue - might be worth a try; their menu looks like it could be a proper Jewish deli

[Nell Plotts]

Remember the original Rose's? Before she arrived the locals made 'cheesecake' with gelatin. For those of us who knew the real thing it was like the second coming!