Blacks on the Frontier

Oregon’s early history of white supremacy laid the groundwork for the state’s lack of racial diversity today. While Black communities emerged in spite of this discrimination in Portland and the Willamette Valley, no such communities existed in Oregon’s rural counties. As a result, early Blacks in rural Oregon represented the most marginalized members of an already vulnerable racial minority. This talk will highlight the unique experiences of some of the few Blacks who, in the absence of larger communities of support, settled on Oregon’s frontier, and the lessons that can be learned from their example.