Multi City Equity Summit 2019

The percentage of African American residents comprising Oregon’s population is among the lowest of any state in the nation. That is not an accident. It is, in part, because Oregon’s leaders and residents made deliberately racist policies and followed racist practices dating back to when the state was founded. These racist policies and practices, both de jure and de facto, have had the effect of institutionalizing and normalizing white supremacy in Oregon. This presentation provides an understanding of how and why Oregon arrived at the present in terms of anti-Black racism by examining the history and outcomes of policies and practices that contribute to white supremacy in the state.