Ron Stockman

“Son” of the first black family in Eugene*

Ron Stockman was born in 1948, becoming the first male black baby born at Sacred Heart hospital in Eugene, and in his many years impacted the University of Oregon campus community and the Eugene community overall. Previous to his birth, Ron’s mother moved to Oregon to be near family, such as her great uncle Leo Washington. Following her move, she married and birthed two children, but relocated to California and was impregnated by another man before moving back to Eugene to give birth to her final child, Ron, who never knew his father.

Four years later Ron’s mother died from ovarian cancer and him and his siblings were taken in by Leo and Pearlie Washington. “Those are the people I call my parents,” Ron states. The Washingtons had lost their own children earlier to tuberculosis.

Ron started school unaware of a difference between him and the white children, and a majority of the time got along with his peers. Although there would always be someone who used the “N” word, him and his siblings didn’t receive the brunt of racism in Eugene, while other black families experienced police harassment daily and had crosses burned in their yards, but Ron states, “things happened to other families that honestly didn’t happen to our family.” He attributes this to being raised by the Washingtons because they blended in with the community and were positive people. Everyone in town knew and respected Leo, and many older children feared and deemed him the “sergeant.”

Although Ron doesn’t recall enduring much racism growing up, it occurred more than he realizes. For example, in 1948 the Washingtons moved to Second Avenue in Eugene and shortly after, multiple neighbors petitioned for their removal from the neighborhood. Because Ron and the Washingtons came from generations of cotton field workers, experiences of racism such as these seemed small in their eyes.

In 1941, the Washingtons became the first black family in Eugene when Leo and Pearlie moved from Arkansas with their son and daughter. As stated, they came from generations of cotton field workers, and moved to pursue a better life. Leo began working at the railroad and Pearlie, a devout Christian riveted by religion, did housework for others while establishing a Christian Methodist church.

The Washingtons created history within the city of Eugene, and left their presence behind through the creation of the first black church. Pearlie founded, what is presently known as St. Mark’s church, in her home in 1948 with the help of Annie Mims and Mattie Reynolds. The building still exists and service occurs every Sunday off Sam Reynolds Road in Eugene.

In addition to their religious endeavors, the Washingtons regularly boarded black railroad workers and performers because they were unwelcome in Eugene’s whites-only hotels, and some of these performers included Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, and Nat King Cole; many black university students also found shelter at their residence.“They were the cornerstone of getting things started here for black people in this community,” Ron Stockman states.

Nowadays, when Ron encounters other black families, he finds that they are both astonished and curious about his upbringing and experiences growing up in Eugene. Ron has learned that black families born and raised in other areas prefer Eugene to their neighborhoods, such as Oakland, because people face murders daily, theft runs rampant, and inclinations of crime in general are high. Families feel safer in the city of Eugene, finding it quiet and peaceful, even though they may deal with more acts of racism, and Ron believes, “it’s a trade-off.”

Ron has always been focused and seeks stability, and with a railroad family background, he recalls, “My dad had always told me, ‘You gotta go to the railroad, son.’ That’s the only place he believed you could work and make a living,” so Ron went to work for the railroad. Shortly after, Chase Company offered him a plumbing apprenticeship, but the pay was too small for Ron to pursue that opportunity solely.

Therefore, for the following three to four years, Ron went to school at night for the plumbing apprenticeship program and worked at the railroad during the day. After finishing the program, he quit working at the railroad entirely; however, the construction business began to slow and Chase Company closed its doors. Ron was concerned: “There I was, never been out of work before with two kids and a wife.” He obtained a job working for UPS around Christmas time and delivered packages for one year until FedEx came to town and recruited him.

When the economy began to strengthen in the construction industry again, Ron received a call from a private plumbing company asking him to help with a new project at the University of Oregon. He gladly accepted, quit delivering packages for FedEx, and began work on a three year long project – a new science building called Streisinger hall.

While working at the University of Oregon, Ron met personnel and project managers who applauded his hard work and dedication so much that after a year into the project, they began to recruit him to work for the university and to leave the private plumbing company. Although Ron abstained quitting his work in the private sector due to financial reasons, after the completion of the Streisinger project, he reconsidered and became a full time employee at the University of Oregon in 1989 and still works there today serving the campus community. He’s been at the university for 25 years and counting and although he loves the people and wouldn’t prefer doing anything else, he plans to retire within the next few years.

Even after retirement, Ron plans to continue to connect with black families in the area. Believing racism in Eugene has come a long ways, he credits a lot of the success to Martin Luther King Jr., “He was a very special man. He was here at the right time, right place.” Although great strides have been made, Ron believes racism will never be eradicated: “Somewhere there’s a child being born that will be taught racism” – it’s going to take a continuous fight.

*Disclaimer: This was created within the parameters of a school project and is in no way meant to be a complete history.

Information provided by:

Lane County Historical Museum. “The Mims Family History.” LaneCountyHistoricalSociety.org. Lane County Historical Society, n.d. Web. 29 May 2014.

Maben, Scott. “Far from the Cotton Fields.” Eugene Register-Guard 11 Feb. 2000, 12A sec.: 7. Print.

Ron Stockman – “Son” of Leo and Pearlie Washington

Terri Cichosz – Former sister-in-law to Ron Stockman