The Portland Black Panthers empowering Albina and remaking a city


Title Cover Image: The Portland Black Panthers

Portland, Oregon, though widely regarded as a liberal bastion, also has struggled historically with ethnic diversity; indeed, the 2010 census found it to be “America’s whitest major city.” In early recognition of such disparate realities, a group of African American activists in the 1960s formed a local branch of the Black Panther Party in the city’s Albina District to rally their community and be heard by city leaders. And as Lucas Burke and Judson Jeffries reveal, the Portland branch was quite different from the more famous—and infamous—Oakland headquarters. Instead of parading through the streets wearing black berets and ammunition belts, Portland’s Panthers were more concerned with opening a health clinic and starting free breakfast programs for neighborhood kids. Though the group had been squeezed out of local politics by the early 1980s, its legacy lives on through the various activist groups in Portland that are still fighting many of the same battles. Combining histories of the city and its African American community with interviews with former Portland Panthers and other key players, this long-overdue account adds complexity to our understanding of the protracted civil rights movement throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Author(s): Lucas N. N. Burke , J. L. Jeffries
Document: Book · Paperback · CIRC [ 0 ]
Edition: 1st edition
Published: 2016
Physical Description: 283 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm
Genre: Biography
Contents:

Making and remaking Albina: the long civil rights movement in Portland Claiming Albina in the era of model cities and the national committee to combat fascism Serving Albina and becoming Panthers under the watchful eye of the Portland Police Bureau The Emanuel Hospital expansion, the James Family saga, and Portland's vision of a new urbanism Winning the war? Regime change, the triumph of community politics, and the emergence of Black leadership in Portland Legacies and life after the party

Subjects:

1900-1999, African Americans, African Americans Oregon Portland Biography, African Americans Oregon Portland History 20th century, African Americans Oregon Portland Social conditions 20th century, African Americans Political activity Oregon Portland, African Americans Social conditions, Biographies, Biography, History, Noirs américains Activité p

Related Places: City of Portland

 

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Last updated: 2025-02-10