To kick this off, I read this today on
Oregonlive.com:
In Portland's heart, 2010 Census shows diversity dwindling
The first statement in the article made me groan:
Portland, already the whitest major city in the country, has become whiter at its core even as surrounding areas have grown more diverse.-Nikole Hannah-Jones, The Oregonian
I posted on my Facebook this response,
Coexist... please... I see all those bumper stickers everywhere, yet we segregate more everyday... So tell me, dear Portland, why do we not do something to stop living up to our reputation as one of the least diverse cities? Everyone here wants to appear so liberal and open-minded, as long as it doesn't include racial diversity I guess. I like it here but when I read things like this, it causes me to pause...
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| I see these on every "liberal's" car in town. | |
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In the article by Nikole Hannah-Jones of The Oregonian, shows how it is not so much that more white people are moving, but how more African-American people are being pushed out. Many our moving to the outer edges of the city and beyond, where there is less access to resources such as good schools, public transportation, parks, and employment. This is also having an effect on minority owned businesses, pricing them out of existence and replacing them with upscale restaurants, boutiques, and one of those many quaint and overpriced coffee shops that seem to dominate our city. The result is wonderfully diverse areas being replace by an affluent, homogeneous population who have access to more resources.
Portland already has a checkered past so to speak when it comes to race. Oregon's first constitution would not even let blacks enter the state. When they were allowed, they were considered undesirable and forced to the worst housing, given the worst jobs and were treated as second-class citizens. It is now 2011 and the same situation is developing again. Attitudes here have not changed much over the years either. For a city which prides itself on being so liberal, this is a shame.
I desire Portland practices what it preaches and actually coexist peacefully, without segregation brought on by gentrification. I want to see neighborhoods that embrace many cultures and not find its value in a purely homogeneous populace. I want us to rise above the shame of our history and grow into a beautiful, diverse city. Is this too much to ask?
The Oregonian
The Oregonian
