Oregon

From Mayor to Homeless: Craig Coyner's Life Tracked the Changes in Bend, Oregon and the West

Deindustrialization, addiction and high housing costs, plus frayed social services and mental health care, have fed a housing crisis on the west coast. One town's mayor experienced this firsthand. 

How the KKK Sowed White Supremacy in Oregon in the 1920s

Both racist and anti-Catholic bigotry fed the rise of the Klan as a power in Oregon's politics in the early 20th century, with an estimated 50 chapters and 58,000 members. 

Liberal Portland has Long Been a Focal Point for the Far Right

Both Portland's current image as a progressive city and Oregon's historical origins as an explicitly white supremacist state make the city a focal point for far right groups and white nationalists. 

Oregon once Legally Banned Black People. Has the State Reconciled its Racist Past?

Activists in Oregon are working to recover knowledge of the state's forgotten African American history, which is as old as white settlement in the region. 

Why Portland? The City's History of Protest Takes an Exceptional Turn

The "Portlandia" image -- of 1990s slackers driven by liberal ingenuity -- isn't entirely true to the city's history, says former professor Randy Blazak.

A 'Very Dark History': Oregon's Racist Past Fuels Ongoing Protests Against Injustice In Portland

Christopher McKnight Nichols, who teaches history at Oregon State University and splits time between the school’s base in Corvallis and Portland, said the long trail of discrimination in Oregon informed the protests in a liberal city long known for its activism.

Abraham Lincoln’s Leap From a Window, and 4 Other Ways Lawmakers Have Fled Votes

Republican state senators in Oregon have disappeared this month in an attempt to block a vote on climate change legislation. Minority parties have resorted to similar stunts for generations. One sure result: More division.

The Illusion that Oregon’s Rajneeshpuram Was Built on

by Carl Abbott

It was that Oregon in the 20th century was still the Wild Wild West where anything goes.

Oregon's racist past leaves a stain that's hard to clean

Stories of modern racism were shared at an event, called “Living with the ghosts of our past,” to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Congress passing the Fair Housing Act.

Tribes See Name on Oregon Maps as Being Out of Bounds

Several place names in eastern Oregon include the word “squaw,” which Native Americans say is offensive. An effort to change the names has been long and difficult.

Oregon Was Founded As a Racist Utopia

by Matt Novak

When Oregon was granted statehood in 1859, it was the only state in the Union admitted with a constitution that forbade black people from living, working, or owning property there.

Archaeology dig set in Jacksonville's Chinese Quarter

Southern Oregon University archaeologists will return to Jacksonville next month to conduct more excavations at the old Chinese Quarter.

Search for centuries-old galleon off Oregon coast begins anew near Manzanita

MANZANITA -- Somewhere off the coast of Manzanita rest the bones of a galleon from the Philippines, wrecked on the rocks around 1700 as it left Manila laden with goods destined for Mexico.That's the legend told here for centuries, but the saga isn't just empty words. For as long as the tale's circulated, Native Americans, settlers and even modern-day beachcombers have found the beeswax and porcelain to prove it.Now, a volunteer group of students, archaeologists and historians calling themselves the Beeswax Wreck Research Project is hoping to get one step closer to finding the ship when they set out to sea later this month with equipment that may zero in on the galleon's location....

Oregon school board votes to drop high school's 'Redskins' name after ninety years

Despite strong opposition from local residents, an Oregon school board voted unanimously to drop a high school’s “Redskins” name and mascot after nearly ninety years.Dozens of students and community leaders crowded into Port Townsend High School’s auditorium late Monday and told the Port Townsend School Board they wanted to keep the mascot. Those comments angered Frank Boushie, a Native American who moved to Washington state three decades ago, Q13Fox.com reports.“It was so racist in there, it was unbelievable,” he said. “They just don’t get it.”...