Senior Inq by Hannah Kyle

1948 Vanport Flood

hkyle6160 — 2025-02-19 22:03:07 UTC

In 1948 the nation's biggest integrated WW2 housing project in Oregon was flooded. Vanport provided Jobs and recreational activities for the residents. It housed over 42,000 people, and most of the residents worked in the Kaiser shipyards. On Memorial Day of 1948 a dike broke and the Columbia River flooded. The officials did not evacuate the residents of Vanport and instead said the dikes would prevent Vanport from flooding. The residents had 35 minutes after the dike broke to evacuate and even then no one knew how bad the flooding was going to be. 16,000 people ended up homeless and 15 were dead. People of color were forced back to their hometowns or into Albina and White people were forced into the suburbs.

https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/vanport-1942-1948/

https://www.oregonhistoryproject.org/articles/essays/the-vanport-flood/

https://vanportplaces.org/

https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/vanport/

Albina/Albina Riots/Redlining

hkyle6160 — 2025-02-20 16:26:14 UTC

In the early to mid 1900s the Albina neighborhood was predominately African-American. People of color were usually not allowed to buy homes out of Albina due to redlining. Albina also seemed to be very busy and full of community. A lot of people started their businesses in Albina because they couldn't always get jobs working for white people in other parts of town.

In 1967 A riot in Albina was started. There were fires everywhere and most of the stores were broken into. Because of this, there was more police supervision in Albina.

https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/albina-portland-1870/

https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/albina-riot-portland-oregon-1967/

The Staple Singers

hkyle6160 — 2025-02-27 21:40:02 UTC

Pops grew up and worked on a plantation in Louisville, Mississippi. He loved the blues and bought his first guitar for $5 and taught himself to play. As he got older and had children, he started "The Staple Singers"

The Staple singers are known for singing gospel and blues and being active in the civil rights movement. The band consisted of Pops, his 3 daughters, and his son. It was started in 1954 Chicago, Illinois. They're in the Gospel, blues, and Grammy hall of fame. The group performed at the Harlem Cultural Festival, and Mavis, the only living member, sang with Mahalia Jackson.

https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/the-staple-singers-1954-2018/

https://www.npr.org/transcripts/505021392#:~:text=With%20Mavis'%20powerful%20vocals%20and,Martin%20Luther%20King%2C%20Jr.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Staple_Singers

Sly and the Family Stone

hkyle6160 — 2025-02-27 21:54:17 UTC

Sly and the Family Stone were a popular funk/jazz band in the 60s and 70s. They sang a lot of songs directed to bringing equality and rights to everyone no matter their race, ethnicity, gender, or looks. For example the song "Everday People" is about the inequality in the world.

They were famously known for being diverse because they had white people and people of color in the group, as well as girls. Everyone looked different and wore different outfits when performing.

Sly ended up turning to drugs and hasn't been seen in public for some time.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Sly-and-the-Family-Stone

https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/sly-and-the-family-stone-1966-1983/

Rihanna (Anti Album cover)

hkyle6160 — 2025-03-04 21:29:44 UTC

Rihanna's Album 'Anti' is very different from her previous ones. Roy Nachum is known for doing artwork and incorporating braille into his paintings and projects. With Rihanna's cover, we see her as a young girl holding a balloon and with a crown covering her eyes.

We also see a white page with red splattered in the back. There's also braille on the crown and the page for viewers that may not be able to see. The crown on the child's head is said to represent that we are sometimes blind or oblivious to our success, And The black balloon is said to represent escaping reality.

https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2015/10/rihanna-anti-cover-what-it-means-roy-nachum

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti_(album)

The advocate in the 80s

hkyle6160 — 2025-03-06 21:32:48 UTC

The Portland Advocate newspaper was started in the early 1910s by Edward Daniel Cannady and his wife Beatrice Morrow Cannady, the editor. The ones I was able to see in person were from the '80s. Most of what I read were empowering speeches and quotes and poems and stories for the people of color in Portland. There were a lot of stories written on education and wanting more black teachers in black neighborhood schools. There were crosswords and word searches, which made it fun and interactive, besides the heavy topics written in the speeches. They advertised the Black United Front hotline to report police brutality and misconduct, they also tickets to volunteer and donate to the newspaper and Black United Front.

https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/cannady_beatrice_morrow/

Rutherford collection at PSU

George Jackson

hkyle6160 — 2025-03-11 20:39:05 UTC

In 1961, in Illinois, George Jackson was put in prison for stealing $70 at gunpoint from a gas station when he was 18 years old.

He was sentenced to one year to life in prison. He then joined the Soledad brothers in prison. He and two others were charged with murdering 2 correctional officers during a riot, which he never went to trial for. He often confronted officers about the mistreatment of inmates at the prison. His brother, Jonathan Jackson, was one of the people responsible for the Marin County courthouse incident because he was trying to free the Soledad Brothers. He was then killed during an attempt to escape the prison. George had left all his remaining funds and money to the Black Panther party.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Jackson_(activist)

Angela Davis

hkyle6160 — 2025-03-13 20:55:41 UTC

Angela Davis was born in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1984. She is most widely known for being active in the Black Panther group and advocating for the rights of African Americans. She was also a Marxist. She is infamous for being on the FBI's most wanted list for "aiding" in the Marin County courthouse incident. The Marin County Courthouse incident was where Jonathan Jackson went into the courthouse and took the judge and some jurors hostage, which ended up with 4 people murdered. The weapons had been under Angela's name, and therefore, she was a wanted criminal in California. She claimed innocence and won.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marin_County_Civic_Center_attacks

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angela_Davis#Arrest_and_trial