Racism in Oregon? (Portland, Eugene, Salem: renting, condo, homes)

[EnricoV]

Originally Posted by Larry Caldwell

Not quite that long ago. The exclusion laws didn't start to break down until WWII. There was a Chinese American guy who owned Oriental Garden restaurant outside McMinnville who wasn't allowed to have a business inside the city limits. He had some hard feelings. When McMinnville annexed his area, he sold out and moved to Corvallis rather than pay taxes to McMinnville. That was my parents' generation.

I'm not saying it was non-existent. I'm only talking of the old chestnut of the law excluding blacks from Oregon as proof that the state, as a whole, is racist today.

As for the rest, McMinnville law isn't state-wide. And of course you can find incident of legislated bias anywhere. After all, your county was one of several that passed Proposition 8 before the state overturned it.

[KCKnight]

Thank you all so much for your responses! I've done some studying recently on racism in Oregon, and it doesn't sound nearly as bad as it does here in Montana. I understand that our society will never be free of racism, bigotry, or ignorance. I also understand that even though Oregon's history is riddled with racism, does not mean that the wonderful people of Oregon are ALL racists.

I love Oregon, and I can honestly say I love the people of Oregon. I have made the decision to move to Salem in just two months. After reading your posts, and all your lively debating. I've realized that Oregon is my kind of state. I have lived in Billings, Montana all of my life. I have seen and experienced racism of all sorts. From what I've read and from what I've seen, Oregon will be just fine for me. Again, thank you all so very much. I truly appreciate all of your responses.

[Leisesturm]

Ok... cool... you've made your decision and everything but... what exactly happened here... I mean... I just read over the transcript of everything that transpired... seems like a whole lot of information was missing on both sides of the debate and in the end what exactly did you learn? Your race is of relevance, I think, if what you wanted to know was how your particular race gets on in Oregon. Perhaps others assumed (as did I) that you are African American. Were any of the individuals assuring you that Oregon's racist past is far behind it actually black? Where are you going to work? What exactly is your field? On the one hand Salem is a good choice because of the large amount of State employers there but you may as well know now that it isn't highly likely that any other entity down there is going to hire you for anything. Relocation is a complex thing full of nuance and I just don't see the math here. Not trying to rain on your parade, but I've held my peace long enough, I think you should get a reality check.

Yes, I imagine if you were able to make it in Billings you should do alright in Salem but is that all you want? A lateral transfer? Why Salem? There is a very good reason why ~90% of Oregon's black people live in Portland. If I read you right you like to take the road less traveled and so do I, so here you go: Hillsboro, Beaverton, Forest Grove, Tigard, Bethany, etc. all suburbs of Portland. But understand you are going to be invisible. In Billings you might have been something of a celebrity and therefore familiar and exotic at the same time. In Oregon you will be neither. There are simply not many examples of culturally and socially assimilated black people to make anyone else think that they can relate to you the way they relate to anyone else. They will want to believe you are dangerous or dumb and avoid any interaction.

None of this should come as any surprise. I haven't noticed that Utah, Iowa, Wyoming, Colorado or Idaho are any different and I could probably live in any of them about as well as I do in Oregon. But they are not Oregon. So, really the question is what do you want from this relocation? Are you ready for clouds and drizzle and spring flowers and mountain scenery? Are you an avid biker (cyclist)? America is such a mixed up, moved around mosh of humanity that, outside of the mega-cities that have their own city vibe there is a near universal dynamic to the way people live and do things in the less populous states. What do you want from a move re: intrinsics. Things endemic to a particular place that cannot be found anywhere else. Gonna have to leave it here. I've stayed up way too late working on this.

H

[BLAZER PROPHET]

Originally Posted by KCKnight

This is one of those issues that I receive many conflicting opinions on. One person says, "racism isn't a problem in Oregon." The next person practically makes Oregon sound like a KKK breeding ground. I don't believe it's that bad there, mostly because all of the people I've met from Oregon (and I know many people from Oregon) are very nice and "cultured".

I'd just like to know from you all. Is racism a "big issue" in Oregon, or is it a non-issue? Especially in the Bend/Redmond/Salem areas.

I would really appreciate your response. Thanks!

That's a very difficult question to answer. The short answer is "yes", Portland is a racist community. That said, it's not a city that is open about it, like southern cities are. I think the reason is two fold- first, Portland is a deeply liberal city and whites have to pretend they are not racist- but judges on comments I hear and things I see, it's no different than when I lived in memphis for 4 years. The second reason is that the black community is very small and tends to stick together so the racism isn't as overt.

In fact, Portland has quite a racist history, but it was never addressed int he media. A few years ago the Oregonian had a huge spread on racism in Portland. It opened a lot of eyes. Mine included.

[Ceesmom]

To say that racism doesn't exist or is unheard of in Oregon. Is like sayin' there is no poverty, evil or hunger in the world. Oregon was once was a state that did not allow BLACKS to live there. Blacks were there as trappers,settlers, and explorers in the early 19th century. Slavery wasn't permitted in this state. However, it wasn't because they were opposed to it. It was because they didn't want the responsibility of the trading competetion etc. Therefore, the goal was to keep Oregon a WHITE state. There was a law passed called the Oregon Donation Land Act of 1850. This law allowed white married couples to have free land who settled there so that the state would remain to the whites. The 1844 Oregon Territorial Legislature passed a bill that was presented to prevent slavery. It stated that anyone who brought slaves in would have to have them gone in 3 years or they would be freed. Even though times and laws have changed, most people don't. Has anyone ever noticed that every race is more welcomed than the black race? An animals life is more valued than a black persons.

[OreNative78]

Interesting how one of the people here, "Orgcrush", was vocal in trying to calmly explain how the great majority of white people in the state could affect how a minority feels, and he was shot down and deleted.

ALmost makes me think there really is a race problem in Oregon that's trying to be kept quiet.

[Silverfall]

Originally Posted by Leisesturm

Ok... cool... you've made your decision and everything but... what exactly happened here... I mean... I just read over the transcript of everything that transpired... seems like a whole lot of information was missing on both sides of the debate and in the end what exactly did you learn? Your race is of relevance, I think, if what you wanted to know was how your particular race gets on in Oregon. Perhaps others assumed (as did I) that you are African American. Were any of the individuals assuring you that Oregon's racist past is far behind it actually black? Where are you going to work? What exactly is your field? On the one hand Salem is a good choice because of the large amount of State employers there but you may as well know now that it isn't highly likely that any other entity down there is going to hire you for anything. Relocation is a complex thing full of nuance and I just don't see the math here. Not trying to rain on your parade, but I've held my peace long enough, I think you should get a reality check.

Yes, I imagine if you were able to make it in Billings you should do alright in Salem but is that all you want? A lateral transfer? Why Salem? There is a very good reason why ~90% of Oregon's black people live in Portland. If I read you right you like to take the road less traveled and so do I, so here you go: Hillsboro, Beaverton, Forest Grove, Tigard, Bethany, etc. all suburbs of Portland. But understand you are going to be invisible. In Billings you might have been something of a celebrity and therefore familiar and exotic at the same time. In Oregon you will be neither. There are simply not many examples of culturally and socially assimilated black people to make anyone else think that they can relate to you the way they relate to anyone else. They will want to believe you are dangerous or dumb and avoid any interaction.

None of this should come as any surprise. I haven't noticed that Utah, Iowa, Wyoming, Colorado or Idaho are any different and I could probably live in any of them about as well as I do in Oregon. But they are not Oregon. So, really the question is what do you want from this relocation? Are you ready for clouds and drizzle and spring flowers and mountain scenery? Are you an avid biker (cyclist)? America is such a mixed up, moved around mosh of humanity that, outside of the mega-cities that have their own city vibe there is a near universal dynamic to the way people live and do things in the less populous states. What do you want from a move re: intrinsics. Things endemic to a particular place that cannot be found anywhere else. Gonna have to leave it here. I've stayed up way too late working on this.

H

I always find it interesting when people talk about how much less racism there is in Portland compared to Salem, Eugene, etc.

They did a fair housing test in 2010 in Portland and 64% of the time Hispanics and African-American's were discriminated against in Portland. Beaverton bombed their fair housing test too. I am sure Salem would bomb its test if one was conducted here.

[Nell Plotts]

I always look at who is doing the test before accepting its findings. Remember even the State EEO folks have an agenda, basically to maintain funding. Take a look first at the number of housing related charges filed with the agency then what % are sustained.

[Silverfall]

Originally Posted by Nell Plotts

I always look at who is doing the test before accepting its findings. Remember even the State EEO folks have an agenda, basically to maintain funding. Take a look first at the number of housing related charges filed with the agency then what % are sustained.

This test wasn't about charges. Many people file a complaint because they are angry or feel their was some perceived discrimination when there wasn't any.

This was a field test. The purpose of the field tests are to help cities see what types of discriminatory practices are occurring so that they can provide better training to property managers and landlords. The purpose behind the field tests isn't to trap people, but just to figure out what kind of education is needed.

[Nell Plotts]

Who did the field test? If it was done by industry then it should have validity.

Don't get me wrong, here. I have worked in EEO both as an employee of a public entity, for a fortune 500 company, and as a consultant. I have seen institutional bias.