I commend Chief Jami Resch who knew deep down in her heart and soul that in these times, she wasn’t the right fit for the job. That took courage and will power coming from a white person in a high office to choose a black man who deserved it. This needs to happen all over the country from the top legislation, congress, and the senate. This is what the black community needs to see now. For example, legislation needs to work for the interest of the people and not the special interest of the lobbyist.
We as the people of color need change to supersede the Portland Police Bureau union contract and local policies by using tools like Civil Rights and Civil Liberties instead of using the word willful by replacing it with words like standards and reckless.
We also need the Police to wear body cameras at all times. Black people need infrastructures such as education, administration, reparation, jobs, justice, and inclusions to eliminate racial disparities. The two hundred forty-six million dollars that is allocated for the Portland Police Bureau for the year 2020 – 2021 proposed budget should be decided by including black people seated around the table.
The Eliot Neighborhood Association (ENA) stands in solidarity with the Black community and supports the recent protests denouncing police violence. George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless others – These tragedies now add to the staggering number of Black lives taken unjustly by a country which continues to devalue those lives. Their names and their stories matter. Their lives matter. Black lives matter.
In these times, as an institution that has worked with the City of Portland in maintaining systems of white supremacy, it is critical that we turn the lens onto ourselves and ask how we have been and how we are complicit, and what we will do to fix that. Knowing that a neighborhood association has an outsized voice in the zoning process in the City of Portland and that those decisions can help build or destroy wealth in our community, it is incredibly important that we take this task seriously. Because neighborhood associations and the public outreach processes that our representatives engage in are spaces that can exclude Black voices, these processes have prevented Black residents from receiving the same opportunities as their white counterparts.
As a result, we are committed to using our roles as leaders in the community not only to facilitate the necessary conversations but also to work towards community dialogues that are inherently anti-racist. The Eliot Neighborhood Association believes neighborhood associations can be for the greater good and can raise issues in ways that will be good for all residents.
Moving forward, the Eliot Neighborhood Association will continue to try to have Black representation on our board and our Land Use committee in addition to other committees in our neighborhood. We are committed to empowering those that are often left out of critical conversations. Additionally, we are always looking for new members and have open seats for those who would want to get engaged. We are continuously looking for articles for the Eliot News that amplify marginalized voices and we encourage more submissions that do so.
Neighborhood Associations are far from the most important conversation right now in a time when communities are grieving. However, as leaders of this institution, we have the responsibility to use our position to advocate for the Black community. We will donate $1000 to the Black Resilience Fund.
Sincerely,
The Eliot Neighborhood Association Board of Directors
Multnomah County Office of Sustainability has asked the Eliot Neighborhood Association to share this message:
Multnomah County’s Office of Sustainability has received a DEQ grant to implement a community campaign about health and wood smoke. The goal of the campaign is to promote clean air and reduce wood smoke in the county.
They are in the early stages of brainstorming and would appreciate feedback about wood burning.
If you burn wood, this 10 minute survey will help inform our 2020-2021 Wood Smoke Campaign. Please fill out by midnight Monday, July 13th for a chance to win one of four $25 Fred Meyer gift cards.
The Good in the Hood Music and Food festival is the largest multi-cultural festival in the Pacific NW. This three-day music festival opens with a community parade that travels through Northeast Portland and ends at Lillis-Albina Park.
The Good in the Hood festival is a community event that is staffed by community volunteers and funded by local businesses and organization sponsorships.
The Good in the Hood Multicultural Music & Food Festival has become a historical annual event spearheading neighborhoods throughout Portland to engage in the momentum of our city as a whole in its celebration and the defining of Neighborhood. Held annually the last weekend in June, its birth revealed a recognition and celebration of wealth within the neighborhoods we reside. Holy Redeemer Catholic School was the vision that ignited the now celebrated Good in the Hood Multicultural Music & Food Festival. For most of the years celebrating this event, Lillis Albina Park has carried on this vision to capture audiences from the North/Northeast community as well as communities throughout Oregon and Washington. Last year we reached out to over 30,000 residents living within our Northeast Coalitions designated neighborhoods which many enjoyed two days of fun, music, food and festivities.
This year’s festival is scheduled for June 26-28. 2020 celebration is cancelled but save the dates June 25-27, 2021 for next year’s celebration. For more information, schedule and vendor or volunteer opportunities go to Goodnthehood.org.
Juneteenth, also known as Juneteenth “Independence Day” or “Freedom Day”, is a holiday that commemorates the June 19, 1865 announcement of the abolition of slavery and the emancipation of African American slaves.
On September 22, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation effectively ending slavery on January 1, 1863, however, the Proclamation had little effect in the State of Texas until two and half years later. It was on June 19, 1865, that Union General Gordon Granger read General Orders No. 3 to the people of Galveston, Texas:
“The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaved are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor.”
Juneteenth in Oregon
In Oregon, Juneteenth Oregon Celebration was founded 45 years ago by the late and beloved community leader Clara Peoples. The celebration of Juneteenth Oregon dates back to 1945 when Peoples introduced the tradition from Muskogee, Oklahoma, to her co-workers at the Kaiser Shipyards in Portland. Upon moving to Portland in 1945, Clara Peoples was surprised to learn that the Juneteenth holiday was unknown in this part of the country. She introduced the holiday to her co-workers at the Kaiser Shipyards during their break being the first Juneteenth Celebration in Oregon.
Later Clara helped to initiate Portland’s annual citywide Juneteenth celebration in 1972. Juneteenth Oregon’s celebration starts with a parade, followed by the festivities which includes live music and entertainment, art, food, educational booths, cultural booths, community resources and a children’s play area.
Juneteenth OR has many opportunities to get involved. We’re looking for event sponsors, vendors, volunteers, and parade participants for our upcoming event. We count on supporters like you to help make our Juneteenth Oregon Celebration successful. Make a donation to show your support.
Juneteenth Celebration
June 20, 12-6 pm
Legacy Emanuel Field (modified to now a virtual event check out their Juneteenth Oregon Facebook page for details)
N Williams and N Russell St
Parade start: Safeway on NE MLK and Ainsworth—9:30 am
Climate change has been top of mind a lot for me recently. I used to think that individual consumption choices could help make a change, but recently I’ve adapted more of the mindset that we need to advocate for systemic changes that enable people to lead more sustainable lives and help make sustainable choices the default. Luckily, the city has been pushing for some land use and transportation policies recently that will help achieve more sustainable outcomes.
I’m personally excited about the Residential Infill Project. I will admit that it has flaws, but I think the positives far outweigh the negatives. At a high level, it ends the ban of building 2, 3, and 4 plexes in single family zoned lots. By allowing for the construction of higher density living arrangements, heating will be more efficient (less energy usage!), and transit, walking, and bicycling for daily errands become more viable (less fossil fuel consumption!). Another benefit is that the requirement for off-street parking is removed which will hopefully lead to more tree coverage as there will be fewer driveways and more space for trees. The city’s own analysis also showed that this proposal would decrease displacement in Eliot which is a huge win for the neighborhood.
Another policy proposal the city has recently put forth is the Rose Lane Project. The aim with this proposal is to get busses out of car traffic on the most utilized routes. By helping the bus move more quickly, we’ll be helping move people more quickly and we’ll make taking the bus a more viable alternative to driving for more people. The more people who choose taking the bus over driving leads to less emissions. This project will also benefit Eliot as some of the busses to be prioritized are the 6 on MLK and the 4/44 on Vancouver/Williams.
It’s an exciting time to be involved right now as a lot is changing and there are some projects that make me feel optimistic which can be hard to come by right now. If this kind of thing sounds interesting to you, we’d love for you to come to our Eliot Neighborhood Land Use and Transportation Committee meetings on the second Monday of the month at 7pm at St Philip the Deacon.
The 2020 Census is taking place right now. With all the disruption of the coronavirus it is easy to forget this important task. You should have gotten a document in the mail to fill out. Otherwise you can call 844-330-2020 or you go can go to the website to complete your participation in the census. Either way don’t forget to be counted. Your information has an impact that will be long lasting and important. https://2020census.gov/en.html
The Allen Flowers Houses 1803, 1811 1815 NE 1st Avenue, circa 1885. Photo courtesy of Oregon Historical Society
There were three small old houses inside our wonderful Eliot neighborhood that were demolished quickly last fall in a peculiar quiet fashion and not to the notice of most of our residents. Well, this rapid and hasty act appears to be deliberate and turns out to be a tragedy for our neighborhood and diverse cultural history. At this time, the author is not clear on the details of what happened on the west side of the block of NE 1st Avenue between Broadway and Hancock Streets on that late fall day back in 2019. What happened may not be the total blame to the developer and much of it rests on the City of Portland and their policies that severely lack an incentive for historic preservation. What is a bigger travesty is that these houses may only be replaced by a parking lot to serve the Toyota dealership on this block.
As of until recently, these 3 houses were owned by Pauline Bradford, a long-time resident of the Eliot neighborhood since 1945 who was very active for many years in the Eliot Neighborhood Association. She was a critical force in trying to make our neighborhood a better place for residents and made an impact on thwarting much adverse development. She was also one of the longest living African-American residents of our neighborhood and worked hard to help improve the living standards and rights of black residents. She also was a strong force in helping put together an inventory of buildings significant in African-American history back in the 1990s that was backed by the Bosco-Milligan Foundation (now Architectural Heritage Center). Known by the author for many years, she mentioned the many times that there were strong efforts by the property owners of the dealership (formerly Coliseum Ford) to pressure her and her husband in selling as far back as the 1970s. Sadly, since the 1970s, adjacent houses all around them were gobbled up as the building and parking lots were expanded. Now the entire block that goes west to N Victoria and north to Hancock may be completely in their ownership. It is not known if Mrs. Bradford recently passed away or relocated for health or other reasons. The last time the author made personal contact with her was in late 2017. The destruction was swift, and apparently, no parts of the houses were even salvaged or recycled. It is possible the owner(s) knew of the great historic significance of two of these houses as being associated with Allen Flowers, one of the first African-Americans who came to Portland and stayed. It is also tragic that the small houses could have been relocated in the general proximity at not too high of a cost due to their smaller size. Recent tax-break economic incentives by the Federal government to encourage rehabilitation of historic buildings would have made it sustainable and economically practical. There are many young ambitious homeowners to-be in the community and investors that would have been interested to save these houses and taken it on in short order. It could be that the new ownership acted on panic.
Now backing things up to the 1800s, Allen Flowers came to Portland in 1865 by jumping ship from a steamship where he was employed when it docked here. He managed to get by with many service-oriented jobs including the Lincoln Hotel in lower NW Portland for a number of years. Later, he became an operator for ships that delivered goods up and down the Columbia River and managed to secure a homestead in the Mount Scott vicinity. In 1884 and 85, he had a wife Louisa M. and purchased 2 lots in Elizabeth Irving’s First Addition of East Portland, now the block with the dealership on it. Interestingly at this early date, people of color were not excluded from purchasing at this location. He commenced construction of 3 houses, for his own new family and other relatives. Flowers chose this location due to his new occupation as a porter-in-charge for the Northern Pacific Railroad between Portland and Seattle. He remained in one of these houses for the remainder of his long life until 1934. He had 4 sons who also lived in these 3 houses with their families. One of his sons, Ervin M. Flowers remained and became the president of the NAACP during the 1920s. The entire family was very instrumental in improving the lives of black residents of Portland and their success in business and careers was also a motivating factor for encouragement to others.
At the present time, it is apparent that the two Flowers Houses that stood here were the oldest known in all of Portland that were black-built. In the historic photo taken just before 1900, all three are clear and very similar. Two of these remained until recently. It is a possibility that there could be a few other survivors of near the 1885 vintage in the general close-in North Portland proximity that are still unknown that could have been moved to other locations during the course of the 20th Century. So far, research has not produced anything known. It was discovered by the author back in the 1990s that the decorative Queen-Anne style cottage that stood at 1745 NE 1st Avenue was built in 1888 by James Curran in McMillens Addition to East Portland and moved to this spot in 1910 due to construction of an apartment building. McMillens Addition also allowed people of color and Chinese to purchase and build. That replacement building was torn down in 1960 along with many adjacent structures, for construction of Memorial Coliseum. Pauline Bradford lived in this house since 1979 and the interior was adorned with gorgeous woodwork and very tall ceilings and was in excellent condition. This was such a waste that we residents hope to never see happen again in our diverse neighborhood and a loss of a cultural resource that cannot be replaced. A tidbit from the book “The History of Albina”, available at Powell’s Books downtown and Broadway Books at NE 17th.
Another historic home may be on the move in Eliot soon. The property at 2316 N Vancouver has been sold and the Joseph M. Manning Cottage is slated for demolition unless it can be moved soon. The developer is open to the idea of moving the house and a few people who have an interest in the house’s future are working to make that happen. More in our summer issue on this, but for now, a little history about the home, built in 1892, from The History of Albina by Roy Roos.
Joseph M Manning cottage which is slated for demolition or relocation prior to development of a five story multi-family residential building. Photo credit Sue Stringer
“This Queen Anne cottage was moved to this location in 1949 and was previously located at 2307 N Flint, where now Harriet Tubman Middle School and Albina-Lillis Park is. Joseph M. Manning, the original owner and builder, was a street grading contractor. By 1898, he formed a partnership with William Lind as general contractors that lasted until about 1904. Manning independently returned to street grading which he continued until retirement. After this house was moved it was owned and occupied by Perry and Della Coleman. Mr. Coleman was employed by Union Pacific and African- American. After his death, Della remarried to Reverand Otha W. Warren, pastor of Mt. Carmel Missionary Baptist Church in 1962.”
By Jimmy Wilson, Co-Chair of Eliot Neighborhood Association
Having lived in this community all my life, which is 60 plus years, serving as co-chair of the Eliot Neighborhood Association, and being one of only three members of color in the association, it has become increasingly clear that my voice and presence is critically necessary as we seek to preserve our sense of community in an environment of gentrification and social change.
Jimmy Wilson, Co-Chair of the Eliot Neighborhood Association and longtime Northeast Portland resident
From my early years, as a kid living and walking the streets of my neighborhood, I have fond memories of the streets, parks, schools, churches, community centers, the families, the neighbors, the local grocery stores, the black-owned gas stations and auto repair shops that represented my community. At that time, over 250 black-owned businesses occupied North Portland from Mississippi, Vancouver, and Williams to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Looking back, I see how we took for granted the sense of a village and community we enjoyed.
Gentrification has brought about enormous changes some good and some not so good. Recognizing that change is inevitable in a community, the question becomes how is the change managed in such a way as to provide a balance between those who are new to the community and those who have been longtime members? Extremes in either direction are harmful to a healthy, harmonious community.
For many of us who have been longtime members, we fail to see the value in high-rise structures, traffic congestion, garbage on the streets, and an increased homeless population that we must address because it is a safety and health issue. We ask ourselves, what happened to the 250 black-owned businesses? What happened to the institutions, the cultural centers, the local hangouts, and other places where the community would meet? They are all gone! All except Dawson Park. What’s more, it is the failure to recognize the harmful effects of the forced displacement when gentrification occurs. For example:
· 10,000 black residents of the inner N/NE core have been removed over the last 15 years
· In 1970, 50-84% of N/NE neighborhoods were African American
· In 2010, only 18-30% of N/NE neighborhoods were African American
· In 1960, 4 out of 5 African Americans lived in the Albina area, and since 2000, less than 1 out of 3 African Americans live in the Albina area.
· The vast majority of our residents were uprooted by no choice of their own; but were systemically, forcibly displaced via an intentional, multi public sector plan to divest in the inner core while simultaneously making plans to reinvest and turn our neighborhoods into bastions of greater wealth for White Americans.
With this in mind, as Co-Chair of the Eliot Neighborhood Association, I have identified three primary goals as my priority in the association.
1) Create an environment of mutual respect and inclusiveness. This association must resist tribalism and understand that it represents the broad constituents in our community.
2) Be a proponent of equity. Our association must seek fairness, evenhandedness, impartiality, and justice. 3) Diversity. Our association board must vigilantly pursue the cultural variety and mixture of our community if we are to have legitimacy.
Now more than ever we need to find ways to be resilient. All of us are experiencing tremendous levels of stress and anxiety as we navigate this public health crisis.
We know that during an infectious disease outbreak, stress levels are heightened from fear and anxiety about the disease, as well as from the uncertainty an outbreak creates in terms of job security, health care, child care, etc. Stress-related effects include:
• Worsening of chronic health problems • Worsening of mental health conditions • Decreased ability to concentrate/focus
We can feel these effects immediately in our bodies and, for some, they can be debilitating. However, there are resources available that can help mitigate the effects of stress, overwhelm, and trauma. A local nonprofit that I work with, Living Yoga, provides one such resource that can help build skills for resiliency.
Living Yoga has been providing mind-body classes and training for populations in locked facilities, reentry programs, and in recovery for over 20 years in the Portland-metro area. Clinical research has shown that practices associated with down-regulating the nervous system, such as yoga and meditation, can reduce levels of stress and anxiety. Before our in-person classes were suspended due to COVID-19, Living Yoga’s 200+ volunteers were bringing trauma-informed yoga and mind-body practices to 600 individuals per month. And the impact was profound. An independent study of our classes conducted by researchers from the Oregon Health & Science University and the National University of Natural Medicine found that students reported broad positive changes in physical and emotional well-being after participating in trauma-informed yoga.
Living Yoga is now committed to making our training and tools for building resiliency accessible to a broader audience. We are looking to partner with organizations in Portland and beyond to provide our online Body-Based Resiliency training to support staff working remotely from home or on the front lines as essential workers.
The 90-minute online training is part “lecture,” where we discuss the impact of stress and trauma on the body, and part “practice” where our experienced trainers lead folks through simple and accessible exercises that help build resiliency skills to mitigate stress on the body. These are skills that can be practiced anywhere; no props are required and no prior experience with yoga or mind-body techniques is needed. We are also offering this training to individuals who feel they might benefit from learning skills for resiliency. We are facilitating two online Body-Based Resiliency sessions in May 2020, and anyone can register. There is a suggested donation, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds. Open session dates are:
Thursday, May 14th, 5:00pm-6:30pm (PST) Saturday, May 30th, 10:00am-11:30am (PST)
Please complete the registration form so that we can send you all the information you need to join via Zoom.
During these difficult times, our community of supporters plays an invaluable role in ensuring that Living Yoga can continue its important mission of fostering healing and resilience through trauma-informed classes. I look forward to continuing to do this work in-person in the not too distant future.
Mira Mohisni, Ph.D. is the Training and Equity Facilitator for Living Yoga.
Jessica Mehta, one of this year’s Open Signal fellows, is currently showing her work “emBODY poetry” at Open Signal. The show, which opened March 10, combines Mehta’s poetry with performance to examine body image and eating disorders.
Jessica Mehta reading some of her poetry for her emBODY exhibition
Since Open Signal is currently closed due to coronavirus, check out this virtual tour of Jessica Mehta’s current exhibition.
The first iteration of the show opened in Washington D.C. last spring. In it, Mehta led attendees in painting words on the body of a nude model. Mehta chose a human body as a canvass as a conscious break from stereotypical sexualization in poetry.
For Mehta, “emBODY poetry” is just one work out of many that give audiences more ways to experience poetry. Her work, “Red/Act” uses virtual reality to create an immersive encounter with indigenous poetry. Mehta is the author of more than a dozen books. More information about her writing and art is available at jessicamehta.com.
Her fellowship with Open Signal isn’t the first time Mehta’s worked in Eliot. Her first job was with the African-American Health Coalition then located in the neighborhood. “The majority of my hours were spent in Eliot at one point.” Mehta, who is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and was born in southern Oregon, draws deeply on her own experiences in her work. She says, “Space and place play a huge role in my work.”
Eliot Neighborhood 