Oregon Commission Black Affairs, Word is Bond, Our Streets, and community partners host Black History Month celebration in Portland’s historic Black neighborhood

Today, the Oregon Commission on Black Affairs (OCBA), Word is Bond, Our Streets, SOLVE, and other community partners joined in North Portland to host a Day of Service and Celebration in honor of Black History Month.

“It’s truly powerful to stand here with you all today.” said Chair Arevalo-Asemota, as he welcomed community for the lunch program. “It is a time to remember the shoulders we stand on – the elders, the leaders, the everyday people who built this community through faith, resilience, and resistance. Black Oregonians have long contributed to the fabric of this state. But our history here is also one of exclusion and systemic barriers – laws that once banned Black people from living in Oregon, redlining policies that denied us homes and businesses, and continued inequities in education, housing, and opportunity. And yet, we have persisted. We have fought. We have built.”

OCBA, a Governor-appointed Commission, serves the people of Oregon to empower and support African American and Black Oregonians through their roles as community leaders and policy advisors to Oregon state policy makers. OCBA’s adopted priority areas include housing, education, and domestic violence awareness and statewide coordination.

More than 182,000 – or roughly 2.26% – Black and African Americans call Oregon home according to the 2022 census.

The day's events started at New Columbia Park, on the corner of N. Houghton St. and N. Haven Ave. with a walking tour of Portland's historic Black neighborhood led by Word is Bond student ambassador Ayman, a junior at Jefferson High School. The tour highlighted key Black landmarks including McCoy Park, Charles Jordan Community Center, and finished at Rosa Parks Elementary School.

Founded by OCBA Vice Chair Lakayana Drury, Word is Bond is a Portland-born, nonprofit leadership incubator that empowers young Black men ages 15-19 through leadership development, storytelling, workforce and career training, and more.

Following the tour, Our Streets, co-founded by OCBA Chair Mitchel Buchi Arevalo-Asemota, and SOLVE, led a community clean up of the neighborhood.

Our Streets was founded in 2020 as a grassroots effort to support the local community while promoting the ideals and goals of the Black Lives Matters movement. Our Streets addresses many of Portland’s deepest concerns such as homelessness, food insecurity, environmental injustice, civilian oppression, and youth engagement.

SOLVE is an environmental non-profit, evolving from a grassroots initiative into a national model for volunteer environmental stewardship through community clean ups.

The day’s activities rounded off at the Regence Boys and Girls Club with lunch and guest speakers including Portland Mayor Keith Wilson and Governor Tina Kotek.

“It feels great to be back here in North Portland, my former district,” said Governor Kotek. “We gather here not only to recognize the remarkable contributions of Black Americans and Black Oregonians but also to acknowledge their ongoing struggles for justice and equality.”

“The misguided, misinformed, hateful conversations dominating the national debate right now are extremely troubling, and could set us back for decades.” she continued. “Oregonians know that diverse perspectives and inclusivity of those perspectives and lived experiences make us stronger, wiser, and more successful. The attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives are tone deaf to what people, in the end, really want – which is belonging for themselves, for others, and opportunity for everyone.”

Originated in 1915 in Chicago, Illinois, Black History Month allows us to recognize and honor Black life and its many contributions to American history by acknowledging their struggles for equality and freedom. Black history month also allows Oregonians to affirm these achievements in shaping our communities, our state, and this nation.

Portland City Councilor Tiffany Koyama Lane (District 3), Representatives Travis Nelson, Shannon Isadore, and Daniel Nguyen were also in attendance.

Photos from the event can be viewed here: https://ourstreetspdxorg-my.sh...