Public History Commons^™

Reclaiming Public Space: How Black Portlanders Transformed Irving Park, 1960s-1980s, Ana Bane

University Honors Theses

Although we often take their existence for granted, public parks are imperative for the vitality of a functioning democratic society. Parks are more than just sites for recreation–an important arena for community building in its own right; occupying public space is an inherently political act that takes on new dimensions in resistance movements. This project explores the role that public space played in the history of Black community organizing and resistance in Portland. Irving Park is a sixteen acre park in the heart of the Albina district, Portland’s historic African American neighborhood. Though the area is now heavily gentrified, from …

Myths, Museums, Mothers, And The Power Of Letitia Carson, Hailey Brink

University Honors Theses

Letitia Carson was a trailblazing Black Oregon pioneer woman whose life offered remarkable and unprecedented departures from the white pioneer status quo. Letitia's story presents numerous points at which she could be heralded for her successes; her pregnant journey across the Overland Trail, giving birth in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains, cultivating and maintaining two separate homesteads, challenging and conquering two lawsuits against administrator Greenberry Smith, her midwifery and community involvement, and lastly, becoming the first Black woman to own land in Oregon in 1862. And yet, her story fell to obscurity, only to be revived nearly a century …

9/11, Culture War, And The Pitfalls Of History, David Horowitz

History Faculty Publications and Presentations

9/11 marks one of the traumatic events of modern U. S. history. Yet its occurrence and aftermath must be placed in the context of social movements and global developments. This presentation focuses on getting past political and social divisiveness. Professor Horowitz has taught at Portland State since 1968, where he won a prize for outstanding achievement in 2007. He is co-author of a U.S. history textbook and has a number of publications to his credit. He is the author of a personal, professional, and political memoir with the title “Getting There: An American Cultural Odyssey.”

Public History Is Now, Sarah E. Dougher

Amplify: A Journal of Writing-as-Activism

A walking tour of downtown Portland in August 2021 raises questions for the writer about the purpose of “memory activism,” its relation to writing-as-activism. Drawing on critiques of urbanist Jane Jacobs and interrogating the concept of “reckoning,” the essay explores ways in which the streetscape and people there can deliver meaning and pose questions about systemic racism and unsheltered existence.

Remarks At The Park Blocks Ceremony Dedicating A Plaque To Commemorate The Psu Student Antiwar Strike Of May 1970, David Horowitz

History Faculty Publications and Presentations

Remarks at the Park Blocks Ceremony Dedicating a Plaque to Commemorate the PSU Student Antiwar Strike of May 1970

So Many Possibilities: A History Of Noodles & Pasta, Nola Lierheimer

Young Historians Conference

There are many foods historians consider to be an important part of history but many have overlooked a food with rich culinary, cultural, and historical impact: the noodle. Much of the history of this food is complex and different throughout the diverse societies it is a part of. This paper focuses on the unique, influential cultures and traditions of Italy and China, through the lens of noodles and pasta. Additionally, it expands to examine surrounding regions and the culmination of ideas that have led to distinct noodle cultures around the world. From prehistoric times to the present day, this food …

Pdx Protests, Summer 2020: A Syllabus And Timeline, Francheska Cannone, Nate Belcik, Macy Franken, Kelly Green, Sarah Harris, Philippe Kerstens, Vicky White, Katrine Barber

PDXOpen: Open Educational Resources

This syllabus and timeline of the protests organized in Portland throughout the summer and early fall of 2020 was compiled and written by Portland State University students enrolled in Professor Katrine Barber’s HST 4/593, Introduction to Public History in Fall 2020. It was prepared in partnership with the Oregon State University Press and presented to them at the conclusion of the course. It combines local Portland journalism with a number of other scholarly resources to attempt to answer the question: “Why Portland?” The goals of the project at the outset were to correct inaccuracies or oversights in national coverage of …

Session 2: Panel 2: Presenter 1 (Paper) -- A Brief History Of Footwear, Tobias B. Boudreau

Young Historians Conference

The use of footwear as a unit of analysis will help historians re-evaluate the relationship between technological diffusion and culture. Shoes are a common item across the globe, regardless of geographical, cultural, and economic divisions, and have been for a long time. Footwear reflects the sociopolitical, economic, and cultural environment of its owner, as well as characteristics of the owner themself. Shoes have taken on significant symbolic roles in art, literature, and everyday life. Essay is divided into four sections; Prehistory, Ancient, Middle Ages, Modern. Various examples from each time period are explained, compared with one another, and connected together …

Original, Nicole Donisi, Skyler Hayes, Ash Horn, Naomi Likayi, Trudy Chin, Fahad Al-Meraikhi, Matt Davidson, Wolfgang Schildmeyer, Nicola Cheadle, Melissa Delzio, Olivia Ridgley, Portland Design History

Student Work

This magazine showcases some of the people, brands and organizations of significance from Portland’s design scene with a focus on the 1960s & 1970s.

Interview With Barbara Tint, Barbara Tint, Patricia A. Schechter

Conflict Resolution Oral Histories

Barbara Tint was interviewed by Patricia Schechter on May 29, 2020, in Portland, Oregon. Also participating in the interview are Alex Berg, Cleophas Chambliss, Oona Fisher Campbell, Jake Hutchins, Alex Ibarra, Lady J, Liza Schade, and Stephanie Vallance.

In this interview, Tint describes her path to academia through working as a counselor and with conflict resolution in a number of international settings. The discussion takes a theoretical turn when students inquired about the philosophical underpinnings of Tint's work.

The Role Of Activism During The Aids Epidemic, Olivia Eaton

Young Historians Conference

The paper examines the role of activism within the AIDS epidemic in the United States and the factors that influenced the various protests. It focuses on the activism that had a major impact on the epidemic and the search for a cure with a concentration on the activist group, ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power). The thesis is that because the activists mostly came from oppressed backgrounds of being LGBT or people of color, they were not afraid of their reputation with the public and thus went to great lengths to expose the corruption in the system and within …

What Comes After: The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, Charles S. Borah

Young Historians Conference

This paper looks at the Exxon Valdez oil spill and the response that followed, including the cleanup efforts, litigation against ExxonMobil and the captain of the Exxon Valdez, Joseph Hazelwood. Also evaluated is the governmental response to the spill, both at the state level in Governor Steve Cowper’s reaction to the spill and the laws passed and hearings held in the federal government. The paper’s thesis is that though there was judicial and legislative action taken as a result of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, it was too narrow in scope to prevent future oil spills from happening and only …

Revitalization In Philadelphia, 1940-1970: Rebuilding A City But Straining Race Relations, Abigail E. Millender

Young Historians Conference

This paper examines government and privately sponsored revitalization projects in inner city and Center City Philadelphia from 1940-1970. These projects—including the construction of rail lines connecting Center City to the suburbs, changes to the National Housing Act, and the revitalization of Society Hill—were meant to bring investment back into the city after the economy had declined from de-industrialization. These projects successfully rebuilt the inner city’s economy, however, they ultimately hurt African-American and minority populations and encouraged segregation. The revitalization of Center City over other parts of inner city and the perpetuation of subprime loans displaced many African Americans, lowered home …

The United States ‘Civil’ War: The Forgotten Nation Of Cherokee People And Their Dynamic Wartime Experience, Lauren E. Monkewicz

Young Historians Conference

This paper explores the Cherokee Nation’s experience in the American Civil War. It delves into the impact of the Civil War on the Cherokee Nation and vice versa. Beginning with Relocation and traditional customs and ending with Reconstruction, the paper investigates cultural, social, and political changes brought on by the war in the Cherokee Nation.

THEMES:

1. The paper beings by exploring the social and racial customs of the Cherokee Nation in order to add context to the narrative of the war. It similarly sets the stage for the damaged relationship between the Federal Government and the Cherokee Nation by investigating …

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Workers Of The Word Unite!: The Powell's Books Union Organizing Campaign, 1998-2001, Ryan Thomas Wisnor

Dissertations and Theses

The labor movement's groundswell in the 1990s accompanied a period of intense competition and conglomeration within the retail book sector. Unexpectedly, the intersection of these two trends produced two dozen union drives across the country between 1996 and 2004 at large retail bookstores, including Borders and Barnes & Noble. Historians have yet to fully examine these retail organizing contests or recount their contributions to the labor movement and its history, including booksellers' pioneering use of the internet as an organizing tool. This thesis focuses on the aspirations, tactics, and contributions of booksellers in their struggles to unionize their workplaces, while …

Interview With Charles Le Guin, Charles Le Guin, Heather Oriana Petrocelli

Portland State University Oral Histories

Dr. Charles A. Le Guin is Professor Emeritus of History at Portland State University, where he taught for over thirty-five years.

In this interview with Heather O. Petrocelli on May 16, 2017, Dr. Le Guin recalls his experience as a member of the Portland State faculty starting in the 1950s. He describes his view of Portland State's development from a small college to a large urban university, the professional, social, and cultural environments of the downtown campus, and the founding of pioneering academic programs such as University Studies and the Honors College.

The Limits Of Tolerance: The Equal Treatment Act And Discrimination In The Netherlands, Dylan E. Wells

Young Historians Conference

The Netherlands has a reputation for being one of the most liberal and accepting nations in the world. However, when analyzing the traditions, politics, education, and other aspects of everyday life in the country, a long-lasting history of racism and prejudice is revealed. This paper explores the possible reasons for inequality in the Netherlands, and the Equal Treatment Act of 1994, the first explicit Dutch anti-discrimination legislation. This paper will discuss the potential reasons why the Equal Treatment Act ultimately failed to curb bias based on race, ethnicity, and religion—challenges still faced by many in the Netherlands today, twenty years …

From Stumptown To Treetown: A Field Guide For Interpreting Portland’S History Though Its Heritage Trees, David-Paul B. Hedberg

History Faculty Publications and Presentations

Portland’s urban forest is rooted in the city’s history. This guide is the first of its kind to use historic literature, archival collections, and living trees as evidence to interpret Portland’s history. Trees are some of our city’s oldest living artifacts and this guide will show you some of the many ways to see and interpret both history and nature in Portland.

Model Lessons About Geography And The United States Civil War, Amy Fifth-­Lince, Tabitha M. Richards, Alan Town, Jack Gordon, Julie Johnson, Sean Stewart, Mark S. Walls, Margaret Skyberg, Melanie Mays, Merx Lavine, Steve Reeves, Ryan Mcwayne, Colleen Pallari

Instructional Materials

Model lessons about geography and the United States Civil War to use with The Student Atlas of Oregon.

From Company Town To Company Town: Holden And Holden Village, Washington, 1937-1980 & Today, Mattias Olshausen

Dissertations and Theses

In 1937, Howe Sound Company built the town of Holden, Washington, to support its copper-mining operation at Copper Peak, located in the North Cascade Mountains, approximately 10 miles west of Lake Chelan. The operation produced concentrate from 1937 to 1957, during which time the town was home to a lively community featuring many families, a variety of organized recreational activities, and a public school. It was a company town, in which most property, business, organized activity, and public utilities and services were either directly or indirectly controlled by Howe Sound. After the operation shut down in 1957, the town was …

Portland, Oregon's Long Hot Summers: Racial Unrest And Public Response, 1967-1969, Joshua Joe Bryan

Dissertations and Theses

The struggles for racial equality throughout northern cities during the late-1960s, while not nearly as prevalent within historical scholarship as those pertaining to the Deep South, have left an indelible mark on both the individuals and communities involved. Historians have until recently thought of the civil rights movement in the north as a violent betrayal of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s vision of an inclusive and integrated society, as well as coinciding with the rise, and subsequent decline, of Black Power. But despite such suppositions, the experiences of northern cities immersed in the civil rights struggle were far more varied …

Interview With Dennis G. Payne, Jasse Chimuku

Black United Front Oral History Project

Interview with Dennis Payne by Jasse Chimuku on February 23, 2010, in Portland, Oregon.

Dennis discusses his time at Portland State University almost entirely. He gives a detailed description of his family genealogy, including the migration through Montana of his father and mother. The story of his grandparents living in Wyoming and ultimately in Harding, Montana is rich with detail of Black family life in the area during the early twentieth century.

The bulk of the interview highlights the struggle of Black students while he attended college. The Black Power movement on a nationwide basis was in full swing at …

Interview With Joyce Braden Harris, Heather Oriana Petrocelli, Parvaneh Abbaspour

Black United Front Oral History Project

Interview with Joyce Braden Harris by Parvaneh Abbaspour and Heather Oriana Petrocelli on March 10, 2010, in Portland, Oregon.

Joyce discusses her work in education.

Interview With Pauline Bradford, Tasha Triplett

Black United Front Oral History Project

Interview with Pauline Bradford by Tasha Triplett and Patrice Mays, March 9^th, 2010, at Pauline Bradford’s home in Portland, Oregon.

Pauline discusses her continuing involvement with the Harriet Tubman Club, one of many member clubs of the Oregon and National Association of Colored Women's Clubs. These clubs played important roles both locally and nationally in improving interracial relations and promoting civic engagement and uplift within African American communities.

Interview With Deborah Cochrane, Christopher H. Riser

Black United Front Oral History Project

Interview with Deborah Cochrane by Chris Riser on March 8, 2010, in the Portland Teachers’ Program office on the Portland Community College Cascade Campus.

Deborah describes her experiences working at the Whitney Young Learning Center and being the director of the Portland Teacher's Program.

Interview With Kathleen A. Saadat, Cameron Chambers

Black United Front Oral History Project

Interview with Kathleen Saadat by Cameron Chambers on March 2, 2010 in Portland, Oregon.

Kathleen discusses how her family provided her with a tradition of camaraderie, social justice advocacy, and education. She also emphasizes how her diverse friendships and relationships opened her up to perspectives that had a great effect on her.

Interview With Willie Mae Hart, Lisa Chere' Donnelly, Heather Jo Burmeister

Black United Front Oral History Project

Interview with Willie Mae Hart by Heather Burmeister and Lisa Donnelly on February 25, 2010, in Portland, Oregon.

Willie discusses the many important moments in Oregon history such as the Vanport Flood, the debate over the Public Accommodations Act, and presidential candidate John F. Kennedy's campaign visit to Portland in 1960, where he met Willie Mae at an event that she had organized.

Working For The "Working River": Willamette River Water Pollution, 1926 To 1962, James Vincent Hillegas

Dissertations and Theses

Efforts to abate Willamette River pollution between 1926 and 1962 centered on a struggle between abatement advocates and the two primary polluters in the watershed, the City of Portland and the pulp and paper industry. Throughout the twentieth century, the Willamette was by far the most heavily populated and industrialized watershed in Oregon. Like many other of the world's rivers, the Willamette was an integral part of municipal and industrial waste removal systems. As such, the main stem of the river carried the combined wastes from sewage outfalls serving hundreds of thousands of people and millions of gallons daily of …

Interview With Charlotte Rutherford, Monica Fields-Fears

Black United Front Oral History Project

Interview with Charlotte Rutherford by Monica Fields-Fears on November 19 and 22, 2008, at Charlotte Rutherford’s home in Portland, Oregon.

1949: Year Of Decision On The Columbia River, William L. Lang

History Faculty Publications and Presentations

Someone new to the Pacific Northwest and seeing the Columbia River for the first time could have no idea what the Great River of the West looked like before the building of the big dams. The Columbia's character and its muscle are generally hidden from view, deep in the old river channel and in the guts of machines that span the river like stair steps, from Bonneville Dam near Portland to Mica Dam at the river's far northern turn in British Columbia.