Titled "Perseverance: Black Pioneers in Early Oregon" and presented by the Oregon Northwest Black Pioneers, a new exhibit opened January 14th at the Oregon History Museum in Portland.
Showcasing the presence of African Americans thoughout Oregon's history the exhibit will run through April 3rd.
The exhibit highlights the experiences of the early Black pioneers who lived in Oregon prior to World War II. As the Oregon Historical Society and Oregon History Museum website points out: "Throughout Oregon's early history, the presence of African Americans in all parts of the state are recorded in documents and photographs. They came to Oregon as slaves and free in spite of Black Exclusion Laws and worked and lived alongside other pioneers as farmers, blacksmiths, lumbermen, miners, bootblacks, cowboys and mid-wives. Their children went to school, they volunteered for local fire departments and they donated money and land to their communities."
I am especially looking forward to the film, "The Logger's Daughter" made in partnership with Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) and the Oregon Historical Society. It first aired in May, 2009 on OPB. The film will be shown within the Maxville exhibit on the first floor. Maxville was built in 1923 by the Bowman Hicks Lumber Company near Wallowa in eastern Oregon. In addition to the unusual situation that the logging camp housed entire families, another distinctive feature of Maxville was that 50 or 60 of the residents were African Americans. The film tells the story of Maxville's history and people through La Grande native Gwen Trice, who set out a few years ago to learn more about her father's early years in Oregon.
Additionally the photographs look amazing. Old photograghs are strangely interesting to me. I don't need to know the people personally or be related.
I want to know the stories, who the people were and how they felt about their lives, their families and their locations. Based on the photographs alone, I think this exhibit will be rich in story.
The Museum hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm and Sunday, Noon to 5:00 pm.
The Museum is located in Portland's Cultural District, at 1200 SW Park Avenue in Portland.
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