A Community on the Move

After the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the West Coast mobilized for war. Shipbuilding jobs brought Black Americans from the South to Oregon by the thousand. These new arrivals settled in the planned city of Vanport, where they built lasting friendships and faced hardship.

This exhibit highlights what became of Vanport’s Black residents who resettled in Portland after the devastating 1948 flood and how urban renewal projects of the 1940s and 1950s created patterns of displacement and gentrification that still affect Portland today.

At the turn of the twentieth century, most Black Portlanders worked in some capacity for the railroad. These workers and their families originally resided near Union Station, but from the 1910s through the 1940s began settling northeast of downtown in an area known as Albina. Good wages, and the presence of Black churches and businesses, offered Black residents of Northeast Portland a comfortable life.

We have three thousand colored people, and we are gradually increasing. For the most part we are buying our homes in all parts of the city. We have one large hotel, a newspaper, three wealthy people, a branch of the YWCA, three churches and two missions. The Advocate, a Portland Black-owned newspaper

But as the Black population increased, racist attitudes grew. Government-sanctioned segregation in the financial and real estate industries, and the private prejudice of many Portlanders, limited where Black families could live. In the years leading up to World War II, nearly all of Portland's Black residents lived in inner Northeast Portland. Many White-owned businesses segregated services by race, and some refused service to Black customers entirely.

I came to Portland in 1943 and was surprised to see the signs. All along Union Avenue there were "White Trade Only" signs. Edward Merchant, shipyard worker

Black Portlanders resisted this discrimination by forming tight-knit social connections in the neighborhood. Williams Avenue, known to residents as “the Stem” or simply “the Avenue,” became the vibrant center of African American life. Williams Avenue became a thriving business district with restaurants, jazz clubs, and Black-owned businesses.

Barbershops and beauty salons were not only places to get hair done but also important venues of exchange. African Americans gathered to swap stories, discuss issues of the day, and pass the time over checkers or chess. Fraternal organizations and churches also helped create social bonds and build community.

During the 1940s and 1950s, numerous jazz clubs—The Frat Hall, The Savoy, Paul’s Paradise, and Lil’ Sandy’s—lined Williams Avenue. The jazz scene extended to The Dude Ranch on NE Broadway and McEllroy’s Ballroom at SW 4th and Main. Bands played around the clock, drawing nationally prominent musicians, including Coleman Hawkins, Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington, and Fats Waller.

In the 1940s, Portland also had its share of organized crime and police corruption. James Elkins, Stan Terry, and Tom Johnson –men both White and Black– controlled illegal gambling, pinball, and prostitution. Businesses such as brothels and gambling dens paid “smile money” to the police to look the other way. Crime bosses paid off the Police Chief, City Councilmen, and Mayor Earl Riley.

No police officers or public official competant enough to do his job could be unaware of the situation. City Club of Portland report on the “openness" of bootlegging, prostitution, and gambling

Tom Johnson accumulated wealth and power during Prohibition in the 1920s and used them to build successful businesses in Northeast Portland. In the 1930s, he owned the Keystone Café, a restaurant, pool hall, and gambling establishment. Because he provided jobs in the community, many people called him the “godfather” or the “mayor” of Williams Avenue.

In the late 1940s, newspapers and the City Club exposed Mayor Earl Riley at the center of police bribery and municipal graft. Dorothy McCullough Lee won the mayorship, promising to “clean up sin, gambling, and prostitution.” The crime clean-up was short-lived –City Commissioner Fred Peterson beat Lee in the next election.

In 1939, more than 30 nations became embroiled in World War II. After the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, the US entered the war. Many Oregon industries geared up for the war effort. Jobs in shipyards, military bases, lumber companies, and aluminum plants became plentiful.

In order to provide ships for the Allied war effort, Henry J. Kaiser and his Kaiser Company established seven major shipbuilding yards on the West Coast, with three between Portland and Vancouver, Washington. The city was attractive because of its close proximity to cheap electricity from Bonneville Dam.

Kaiser transformed Portland into the country’s leading producer of Liberty Ships (military cargo vessels). The shipyards would transform Portland, bringing an economic boom and phenomenal population growth.

Kaiser advertised nationwide to recruit workers. Trains marketed as "Magic Carpet Specials" boarded workers and their families on the East Coast and deposited them in Portland. Ultimately, 160,000 people arrived; 25% were Black. At the peak of wartime production in 1943, women made up more than 10% of the workforce in most of the shipyards.

Wages for Black men at the Kaiser shipyards averaged $3000 a year during the peak production years –far more than the $500 average Black family income in southern states at the time. But Black workers were restricted to lower paying positions. The most sought after positions were dominated by the Boilermakers Union Local 72, which refused to admit Black workers as full members.

I wasn't expecting Shangri-La, you know, being from the South. But it's so far north you contemplate a difference, like you thought New York was. But it wasn't like that. The Boilermakers were the worst. They set up a Jim Crow union. McKinley Burt, shipyard worker and author

Additionally, many Black Portlanders supported the war effort through military service. Black men enrolled in combat units, some in the famous Tuskegee Airmen and Triple Nickles units, while Black women served in the new Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps.

The phenomenal growth of the workforce for the wartime industry created housing problems and strained transportation systems. Albina began to burst. The Black population in the area grew from 1,150 in 1940 to 7,100 by 1942. People were forced to sleep in bars, cars, and churches.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Housing Authority of Portland signed off on 4,900 housing units. The estimated need: 37,000 units. Temporary housing was built in the Guild’s Lake area to accommodate the influx of new workers.

Portland can absorb only a minimum of Negroes without upsetting the city's regular life. Earl Riley, Mayor of Portland, 1942.

When Henry Kaiser discovered that the Housing Authority was not securing housing for new workers fast enough, he secured the federal approval to build a complex just outside Portland. The planned city of Vanport (a combination of "Vancouver" and "Portland") was built on 640 acres of North Portland land between the Columbia River and Columbia Slough.

Kaiser's "miracle city" was built in just 110 days. In 1943, Vanport had over 40,000 people, making it Oregon’s second-largest city. 6,000 of those residents were Black.

In many ways, Vanport was a typical US city. There were stores, restaurants, and movie theatres. People attended community events and enjoyed ample outdoor activities. But unlike other cities, the residences in Vanport were barracks-style buildings with paper thin walls and wooden foundations. Each apartment was small, but furnished.

Racial discrimination could also be found in Vanport. Despite federal regulations, the Housing Authority of Portland placed Whites and Blacks in separate sections for the housing projects, and stated, “while we do not discriminate, we do segregate.” Black families were denied available homes in White sections of the city. While housing was segregated, schools were integrated. Over 6000 children of all races attended school together in Vanport.

World War II came to a close with Japan's surrender to the United States on September 2, 1945. While the nation celebrated its victory, the end of the war brought profound changes to the residents of Vanport.

In Fall of 1945, the Kaiser Company curtailed production and laid off thousands of workers. Mayor Earl Riley and Governor John Hall urged workers to leave the Portland area. Some workers and their families went back to the places where they'd come from before the war. Others moved on to find work in the growing aviation industry centers in Seattle, Los Angeles, and Oakland.

Many Black residents decided to remain in Vanport. Prejudice and discrimination continued to limit where Black residents could live and work in Portland. Many Black Vanporters felt attached to the community they had helped create, and the Vanport Extension Center offered educational and vocational opportunities for returning servicemen. By 1948, the Black population in Vanport was still approximately 5,000.

It's Negroes like Kaiser brought in that cause trouble. The ones that lived in Oregon before knew their place and stayed where they belonged. John Hall, Governor of Oregon, 1948.

On May 30, 1948, the Columbia River, swollen by spring rains, broke through a railroad dike near Vanport. Within minutes, Vanport washed away. The Oregonian reported 14 casualties; many believed the number to be much higher. The displaced Vanporters had only minutes to gather their personal belongings and evacuate. Over 18,000 people became homeless in an instant.

The Red Cross set up temporary shelters on Swan Island, but families had to shortly decide where they would go next. White Vanporters were easily absorbed into Portland, but Black Vanporters had nowhere to go but the Williams Avenue area. The Albina area, where Black residents already had limited options for housing and jobs, saw its African American population quadruple to 4,683 people.

In time, most Vanport residents moved into Portland proper. The majority of Black residents ended up in Albina –still the only area available due to restrictive covenants and discriminatory practices.

The term “redlining" referred to the practice of marking a red line on maps to delineate areas where banks would not invest. Redlining led to the denial of loans for businesses and mortgages, as well as the practice of denial or premium charges for insurance, health care, and other services. Realtors used these maps to restrict people of color from buying or renting in any part of the city with the exception of the redlined areas.

The flood washed out segregation in housing in Vanport. That is when the real estate board decided it would sell housing to Negroes only between Oregon Street which is the Steel Bridge and Russell from Union to the river. Later they expanded it to Fremont, so they had no choice in buying a home; they were the only ones available. E. Shelton Hill, civil rights activist, Director of the Urban League of Portland ('59-'73)

In 1948, the U.S. Supreme Court declared racially restrictive covenants unenforceable, bringing an end to government-sanctioned segregation. Yet, racial bias persisted. The Urban League asked Portlanders, “How close would you allow Negroes to move to you?” 52% answered “Out of Sight” or “Wouldn’t Allow Them in the Neighborhood.”

Black residents of Portland faced difficult conditions in the aftermath of the Vanport Flood due to housing and employment discrimination. The post-war years were a time of see-sawing progress, as new civil rights gains were met with resistance.

In 1949, laws at the state and federal level gave civil rights advocates reason to celebrate. President Harry Truman signed the Fair Housing Act, expanding the federal government’s role in mortgages and public housing. Hailed at the time, the act would produce mixed results in Portland. Also in 1949, Oregon passed the Fair Employment Act, which empowered the State Labor Bureau to prevent employment discrimination.

For decades, civil rights advocates worked to end Oregon’s ban on interracial marriage. Oregon banned miscegenation (marriage between members of different racial groups) in 1866.

As a result of national efforts by the ACLU and local activists in Oregon, the Oregon Legislature overturned the 1866 law in 1951 –16 years before the U.S. Supreme Court declared all miscegenation laws unconstitutional.

State lawmakers introduced a public accommodations law 17 times beginning in 1919. In the 1950s, the Portland NAACP pushed again –State Representative Mark O. Hatfield and State Senator Philip Hitchcock co-sponsored the Public Accommodations Bill.

The bill passed in 1953, ensuring all people full and equal accommodation without discrimination based on race, religion, or nationality. For African Americans in the Albina district, the 1950s represented the height of homeownership, business prosperity, and tightly bound family connections

As Black Albina bustled in the 1950s, White Portlanders began to head for the suburbs. Upper and middle-class people saw it as a sign of progress to get away from the inner-city, where low-income and minority populations grew more concentrated and the perception of crime-riddled communities grew.

Many Black families sought homes in the suburbs too, but were barred from residency in these new suburban communities. Housing developments used a variety of tactics to keep African Americans out.

Terry Schrunk won the 1956 mayoral election on a platform of "urban renewal." Not unique to Portland, urban renewal projects across the country forced low-income and people of color out of “blighted” areas to make way for "progress.”

In Portland, urban renewal laid the groundwork for the creation of the Portland Development Commission (PDC). In 1958, the Portland Development Commission created a 10-year urban renewal plan for lower Albina, stating “clearance appears to be the only solution to…avoid the spread of blight to other surrounding areas.” 80% of the city's Black residents lived there.

The PDC condemned Black-owned properties and carried out wide-scale demolition of homes in Albina for decades, ignoring objections from neighborhood's residents. Hundreds of Black Portlanders would ultimately be displaced by the creation of the Rose Quarter (1958), Memorial Coliseum (1960), and Interstate 5 (1963).

After already enduring a devastating flood, segregation, and restrictive covenants, Black Portlanders now had to watch as bulldozers tore through the heart of their community.

But the next decade would bring new voices to the fight for civil rights. A younger generation–who were children during World War II– now dominated the discussion. More impatient and more assertive than their parents, these new voices would rise up and challenge the status quo.