Race and Place Over Time was a graduate-level workshop class offered in Winter 2022 at the University of Oregon in partnership with the Collaborative for Inclusive Urbanism (CIU). The class offered students the opportunity to explore new ways to preserve and interpret the cultural heritage of historically excluded communities in the U.S. The workshop is also part of UO’s Just Futures Institute research project on Sustaining Inclusive Cities, and focused on the historically African-American community of Albina in Northeast Portland, Oregon.
Students designed and executed their own projects for this workshop using data from the Cornerstones of Community publication (Bosco-Milligan Foundation, 1995) and themes from the African American Resources in Portland from 1851- 1973 Multiple Property Documentation. This webpage is a group project designed to showcase these students’ work, which falls into three general categories: Data, Design, and Storytelling. Artist Cleo Davis served as a co-teacher and advisor for students in the class.
Student Projects 2022
DATA
Lindsay Tran & Mira Hayward
We are laying the groundwork for a comprehensive data clean-up of the GIS map. We are doing this by:
- Assessing each data field for its significance and relevance to the stated goals of the Center for Inclusive Urbanism (CIU);
- Deciding which data fields to keep, which to discard, and which to add to better meet these goals;
- Reorganizing the data fields in the Data Dictionary to make the significance of each resource clearer to future researchers;
- Renaming data fields as needed to clarify their content;
- Providing two examples in the back-end documentation (Data Document) to illustrate how our methodology has improved the appearance and usefulness of each data point;
- Writing a “Data Document” documenting our methodology and challenges in creating the Data Dictionary, as well as a document detailing some of the ethical considerations in dealing with this data set.
Within the contexts of this project, our work facilitates further research into how displacement from Albina has compromised the intangible cultural heritage of the Black community. By emphasizing individual contributions to the community’s vitality, the revamped GIS map will make it easier for researchers and community members to draw connections between urban renewal and its ill effects on communities; they will be able to point to specific examples from Albina thanks to the clarity of this map.
DESIGN
Sam Tokos
My project seeks to bridge the past and the future by uncovering the history of my site at the PBOT Albina Yard and connecting it to the future through a proposed design which seeks to uplift the lives of those affected by racist planning. Crucial components to the site are the intersection of I-5 and 1-405 and placement of Emmanuel hospital. Through investigation of Sanborn Maps I will illustrate what has happened over time and how displacement has taken place. My project will help the overall effort by illustrating a site specific story. A story which discusses the reality of history and prompts a promising future for a neighborhood that has disproportionately been affected by white flight, urban renewal, and gentrification.
STORYTELLING
Victoria Banda
This StoryMap project utilizes primary and secondary sources to map the meeting locations of past and present African American fraternal organizations in Portland. A narrative further provides a history and context for the development of these organizations over time. As a result, we can see that these anchors of community follow the larger pattern of African American displacement from west to east to northeast.
Cayla McGrail
Queering the Albina Project highlights the absence of Portland’s Black Queer community within the Cornerstones of Community data and the African American Resources in Portland, Oregon (1851-1973) Multiple Property Document.
Hannah Mellor
This StoryMap highlights 6 stories of African American historic resources that were demolished as a result of the Urban Renewal projects in Lower Albina – specifically the construction of the Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum. These properties include dwellings and a historic African American church.
