This content was published: September 4, 1998. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
PCC Presents African American Photo Exhibit
Photos and story by Mark Evertz
PORTLAND – The Oregon Historical Society and the PCC Cascade Campus Community History Center will bring Portlanders a gripping photographic anthology of African American life in Oregon at the Cascade Campus Learning Resource Center from Sept. 21 to Nov. 15.
The free exhibit at Cascade, located at 705 N. Killingsworth, can be viewed from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Fridays and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays.
In Search of the Dream: African Americans in Oregon chronicles African American history in Oregon through the following themes: Coming to Oregon, Portland’s African American Community, World War II and its Aftermath, Victories and New Challenges and Grassroots Activism.
Elizabeth McLagan is the guest curator of the exhibit and also a board member of the Cascade Community History Center. She has completed research projects for the Oregon Black History Project, the City of Portland Disparity Study, taught on the subject and written on ethnic and gender discrimination in Portland.
Linda Elegant, director of the history center, said she was glad to have a hand in coordinating the exhibit.
"The Cascade Community History Center was pleased to cooperate in the development of the exhibit," she said. "And I’m also proud to say that a photo from the (PCC) archives is part of the display."
Chet Orloff, the executive director of the Oregon Historical Society, recently weighed in on the African American contributions to Oregon and the importance of this exhibit.
"Between 1859 and 1942, the few but enterprising and preserving African Americans who came to Oregon contributed to Oregon’s social, legal, scientific and cultural life," said Orloff. "Though few in numbers, their accomplishments were many and, today, well-documented."