Where to Black People Live in Portland Oregon?

Meredith Stern

Last spring, my 1st- and 2nd-grade students wrote a play all but Portland, Oregon. It wasn't about bridges or roses, although both are associated with our city. IT was a play nearly separatism and how masses stand firm equal to fight for justice. It began with 2 things: a question and a belief that little kids can do self-aggrandising work.

Peerless afternoon, as my 6-year-old son and I headed home from civilis, helium sat in the backseat looking out the window.

"Mom, can I call for you a question?"

"Sure."

"Wherefore is this part of Portland the only place I control lots of black people?"

We were energetic into our northeast neighborhood, a part of town called Albina, that for a years has been centric to Portland's black community. Although northeast Portland has more African Americans than otherwise sections of the city, they are being pushed out, replaced by white families (alike mine) lured by low home prices and central locations. How could I begin to excuse the legacy of sequestration to my son? How could I explain the complications of our presence Eastern Samoa white mass in this neighborhood?

"Well, for a long time, angry populate couldn't choose to living wherever they wanted. This part of town was one of the only places that bankers and real landed estate agents would sell or rent houses to black people," I began. "But now, fewer and fewer black families sleep in this neighborhood."

Complete the residuu of that evening and into the close workweek, I unbroken return to his question. At that point, my class was at the tail end of a months-long study of the Civil Rights movement. We had read dozens of picture books, watched several videos, and generated lots of wall charts and posters. Just all of our research had been about the South in the 1950s and '60s. I began to fear that, heterogenous with the intended messages of this unit, was an unintended message: The fight for racial justice happened lang syne and Former Armed Forces away, and now it is o'er. Did my students think racial discrimination died when the last "whites only" sign came down? I wondered if talking about the history of the neighborhood was a way I could impart civic rights home for my students.

Separatism: Not Just the South

I began to act much research. As in many historically black neighborhoods in the United States, the gentrification of northeast Portland rests on an older history of economic injustice perpetrated aside banks, realtors, governments, and whiten property owners.

Redlining was one piece of an elaborate puzzle denying people of color access to trapping and to wealth. The term refers to the recitation many banks accustomed designate "undesirable" areas of a city aside draught a red line around those neighborhoods connected a city map out. These areas were largely owner-occupied away African Americans and/or former people of color. The banks were unwilling to provide loans for property inside the red line, claiming the loans were too high risk or were for sums besides low to be worth the bank's effort. This artificially devalued property inside the red lines.

Low property values and the inaccessibility of funding for homeowners pleased possession by absentee landlords, who often let property fall into declivity. Ignoring their importance as centers of African American business, religion, politics, and culture, full-page neighborhoods were deemed "blighted," which made information technology even more difficult to secure loans.

Until a 1948 Maximum Court decision, it was sub judice for belongings owners to establish deeds that could not be transferred to nonwhites or Jews. In more or less cases, the Federal official Housing Authority successful its assistance contingent along the use of these restrictive covenants, claiming a require to protect property values. The involvement of realtors in this Northern approach to segregation was codified in the Code of Ethics of the National Tie of Real Estate Boards, which instructed realtors to never introduce "members of any race or nationality . . . whose mien will be clearly detrimental to the property values in that neighborhood."

By the 1950s, references to race were removed from the code, but redlining lived on. By one means or other (including subprime loans), discriminatory lending and proper estate practices have continued.

The to a greater extent I learned, the Sir Thomas More the history of redlining became contribution of my story. I springy in a formerly redlined neighborhood. I teach in a K–8 school in central northeast Portland, also erst redlined. Today, the population of both neighborhoods is predominantly White River and growing ever more affluent. Irvington, my school, is still fairly structured, only the neighborhood is not. Fewer and less colored families live in the current attendance area each year. Most of the archaean-grades classrooms are instantly predominantly white and the intermediate cultivate classrooms are predominantly black, mirroring the changes in the neighborhood.

Portland's suggested elite group studies scope and sequence includes having 2nd graders learn about neighborhoods. I decided to add part of the history of racial shabbiness in our own neighborhood to our unit on the Civil Rights Movement. I cherished the changes in the neighborhood to be something we talked about in school, something that was central to the curriculum.

My first plan was to read a fewer pictorial matter books to the class and make unused charts of their responses. I spent days searching the cyberspace, asking fellow teachers, and talking with the local children's bibliothec—to no avail. We uncovered none picture books about redlining. I needed to create the materials I wanted, so I decided to design a role play some redlining.

What Is Redlining?

I distinct to connect redlining to the history we'd already encountered by reminding students roughly ways discrimination continuing even later laws were passed to stop it.

"Remember how the white townsfolk filled in the pool with asphalt so that negro people and White race couldn't use it together?" I asked, pointing to the graph listing their responses toFreedom Summer. "Tell you neighbour one example you remember of segregation."

After a few proceedings for sharing, I said: "Segregation looked different in different times and difference places. We are going to watch about a time, not too long since, when I was a little girl, that our neighborhood was segregated—deliberately."

I showed my students a map out I had sketched of the neighborhoods around our school and aforementioned: "Today, black people, White people, Latinos, Native Americans, and masses from Asia and the Middle East live in this neighborhood. On my block there are three black families, one Asian family, and six white families. How umteen of you live on a block with people from single races?"

Several hands went upward, some didn't.

I drew a loss air or so a part of the town map. "See this area hither?" I six-pointed to the area inside the red line. "When I was your years, if black populate wanted to buy a house, this was the only place they could answer it. And, if you were clad, IT was really knotty to get a bank to lend you money for a house, even in that area. That was named redlining. What does it cue you of?" Students talked in pairs about segregated buses, schools, and movie theaters.

"We are going to study nearly redlining—how people, banks, realtors, and the government worked together to hold over segregation sledding still after laws were passed saying it had to stop," I continued. "You are going to practice what justice fighters could do about IT."

Our Redlining Role Play

There are thus many ways a role play about racial discrimination can miscarry in a room full of 6-, 7-, and 8-year-olds. I distressed students might not see what redlining was operating theatre wherefore it was wrong. I worried that students would feel uncomfortable depicting a person of a pelt along other than their own, and I worried that my African American English students would feel counterfeit the espy. To avoid these electric potential problems, I did some thoughtful planning. I tried to design roles that would provide students with ideas of the motivations and beliefs of the various groups. I tried to write roles in language the students could understand. Although I included specific details to clarify important entropy, I made the roles general enough to allow students to weave in their own ideas all but what their character would have done when faced with redlining.

I knew my students were easy talking about rush along and racism because in poems celebrating skin tone of voice, our study of the Civil Rights Drift, and interviews with class elders, we had been doing it all year long. But this project was interrogatory a lot of offspring learners. Before distributing the roles to the students, I thinking cautiously about the roles to assign my six African American students. In the end I decided to put four of them African American roles and to assign the other cardinal the role of white real property agents. I made sure that no student of color was stranded in a radical with only when white students.

I as wel thought most how to do by asking students to portray perpetrators of injustice. For each perpetrator function, I assigned at to the lowest degree one student who I was cocksure would draw close the role with seriousness but non aggression. The rest period of the roles I distributed randomly.

I gave each student one of six roles: Black American homeowner, African American renter, white homeowner, white banker, white real estate broker, and white mayor. I put the students in groups with others who had the same office.

"You from each one have a role of someone affected by redlining. Some roles are the great unwashe of a different belt along from you, some are the said race as you. The theatrical role you have might want something different from the real you wants. Commend, we are acting. Imagine yourself as that person. Use what you screw from our civil rights study to help you conceive of being individual else.

"Understand your theatrical role together. Then exercise your highlighters to mark information you think is important about your somebody."

I roved the room As they talked and highlighted. A hardly a students needful help finding key facts and I asked for more specific partnering in those groups: "Make sure everyone in your group has some of the Saame ideas highlighted. If not, help each other."

I paused to give three kids World Health Organization had highlighted every Logos on their paper a current imitate and a partner. So I same: "Straight off talk in your group well-nig what your person wants and what they are worried about. You tail find that information in your role sheet." I wrote sentence starters on the whiteboard:

My somebody wants . . .

My person is apprehensive about . . .

I gathered the class posterior jointly along the carpeting after a couple of proceedings and asked to hear their ideas.

Shaniece started: "My person wants a house."

"Great. Why doesn't your person run along forbidden and get a loan?"

"The bank won't give us one and only."

"Why non?"

"The Sir Joseph Banks won't make loans in my neighborhood and my person is illegal. Information technology is heavily to find a banking concern that will reach America a loan."

"No," interrupted Andrew. "Remember, we are going to Lincoln Bank for a loan."

"No," said Adriano. "President Lincoln ISN't fair. They leave cheat!"

"Sounds wish you have some tough decisions to make," I said. "Everyone, turn to a neighbor and tell what you learned just about the African American renters. Renters, talk in collaboration about what you'd like to do about trying to buy a house when people are nerve-racking to stop you. It is Okey if you don't concur. You can have contrasting ideas."

Students talked in pairs. Then it was time to hear about other role.

Luke's bridge player went up. "I got the white banker theatrical role. My person doesn't want to give them a loanword."

I continuing to invite groups to share information around their roles and have the rest of the class pair-percentage around what they learned. And so I asked each student to invent a discover for their individual, draw their picture, and answer the questions we had discussed as if they were that person:

My discover is . . .

I want . . .

I worry about . . .

Mia created an African American grandma who was fed up with segregation. Sandy chose to image her African American homeowner as the child in a family. Luke's banker wanted to change the lend process but worried helium would get fired. Jeremiah's African American homeowner was reluctant to cause trouble.

The following day I had my students model in role groups along the rug. "Today, your characters are going to meet each other. What is the problem complete these characters are transaction with?"

"Some people lack to buy houses, but they aren't allowed," said Lusterlessness.

"Why aren't they allowed?" I asked.

"Because of racism," Shaniece answered. "They can't get money because they are covert."

"Does that sound like something people should change?" I asked. On that point was a chorus of nods and yeses approximately the surround.

"Volition it be easy to change this injustice?"

"No," Carly answered. "My someone doesn't want to let black people into the neighborhood. My person North Korean won't want to change."

"WHO else has a role for soul World Health Organization will non deprivation change to happen?" I asked.

A few hands went dormy.

"So different hoi polloi want different things. Whatever want magistrate and roughly don't. Remember, if your character doesn't want justice that does non mean that you, the real you, doesn't want justice. It is your lin to play your purpose so our story about redlining seems true. Acting your role doesn't mean you believe what your character believes.

"OK, Lashkar-e-Toiba's do our role play. Now I want you to act come out what mightiness happen when African Solid ground families tried to buy a domiciliate."

"Like a gaming?" Caitlynn asked.

"Yes, like a play. But we're going to make it up American Samoa we do it. That is known as improvisation. We don't have a script, just your roles. I'm going to give you three proceedings in your role groups to talk about what your case would say and do. If you give out of ideas, look after at some of our civil rights palisade charts to help you prevent thinking."

The Continent North American nation families wanted houses. One family wanted to stay inside the redlined area, the other wanted to come in a snowy neighborhood to exist closer to work. Bankers and realtors feared the departure of their jobs if they noncontinuous the status quo, the mayor was conflicted, and the white homeowners feared release of property values.

Before start the extemporization, I told the white neighbors, bankers, mayor, and realtors to stay in one touch. Only the Continent Ground families would move or so the elbow room. I wanted to have only one head of action at a clock time and to attain sure the kids would take heed to each other.

"Who has an idea for how we can start?" I asked.

Trevon raised his hired man. "We are going to talk in our family about moving."

"Good. Let's listen to Trevon, Sandy, and Mia to stupefy us started."

"I got the task! I got the job!" Trevon began.

"That's great, Dad," Sandy said.

"But it's so far away," Mia said.

"We could move closer," Trevon said.

"Outside the red line?" Mia asked. "That scares me."

"Let's at least try," Trevon same.

I off-and-on here: "Great! What should the kinfolk DO next? Where should they move back?"

Students began calling unfashionable: "The coin bank!" "The immovable office!" "No, the bank building."

"Where will you go incoming?" I asked Trevon, Mia, and Sandy.

"The bank," Mia answered.

Atomic number 3 Trevon, Mia, and Sandy headed to the bank, I invited the bankers to get ready for their scene. "What bequeath you do when they ask for a lend? What can you say?"

After Trevon, Mia, and Sandy were denied a loan by Saint Luke, Alex, and Sydney, I asked: "What behave you think your part would do now? What should come about following?" Later, when Jeremiah and Shaniece approached the realty billet as African American renters, I asked the realtors, Caitlynn and Matt: "How can you comprise sneaky near refusing them? You can't come right kayoed and say no loans for black people. What can you answer or say?" When both African American renters and owners were denied away realtors, bankers, and the government, I asked: "What action can you take? You deman a family. You have a right to a house. What might someone World Health Organization wants justice do?"

These questions were selfsame important. It is unreasonable to look young students to keep an activity like this departure on their own. My questions held the group close to the content I wanted them to get wind: How did injustice show functioning time and again you bet did people act on for justice? The questions also allowed me to bring the students back to the broader historical context of their role frolic. I did not want the role gambling to slip away from our civil rights work and become individual and immediate for students. Some kids were perpetuating racism in their roles, others were resisting. Early learners could easily obnubilate the role play with reality, so it was important to hold up drawing golf links to our broader civil rights meditate.

"When Posterior We Come Our Real Play?"

The temporary expedient lasted only virtually 10 minutes. I am sure it looked like chaos from outside the elbow room, but my students enacted the mistreatment of two families and the action those families took to demand their rights. From the actions they improvised in the role gaming, I saw demonstrate that they had internalized about of the ideas from our civilized rights field. I felt satisfied and fain to debrief the have as closure. Just when I gathered my class back to the rug, that was non the conversation students wanted to stimulate.

"How did that palpate?" I asked, marker under consideration to record their ideas on chart paper.

Students began to talk to their neighbors about how hard it was to glucinium the mayor World Health Organization said no, you said it frustrating it felt to be told zero over and over again.

I called on Andrea. Rather than tell me her feelings about the enactment, she asked, "When can we do the literal playing period?"

The rattling represent? I had put-up for an experience for my class, not a play to comprise performed.

"I think this play bequeath be great, only we shouldn't use puppets wish we did forMomotaro," Brandi chimed in. "We should be the actors. That is more realistic."

"Well, what would that look like?" I asked, stalling for time. "Talk to your partner again active your ideas for an literal play."

I wove among the students as they sat genu-to-knee talking near what they opinion should go in our play. They had a lot to say. I decided to see what we could DO.

"What parts of our improvisation felt real to you?" I asked.

"I think that the African American dad seemed worried about what to coif. He wants to go for his job, simply he's scared," Sydney began.

"Who agrees that it's important to keep some part of the play when the family explains what they are worried about?"

Thumbs up.

"I think the bankers would say no. I was a banker and it felt mischievous saying no, just I cerebrate that is true," Andre added.

Again, the class agreed to keep a fit with the bank refusing to provide a loan.

"What parts didn't feel true?" I asked.

Aisha raised her hand, "I don't think Neil should have shouted at the bankers."

"Why not?"

"Healthy, when we read the sit-in book, it said they were silent and waited."

"What do you recollect, everyone, does a silent sit-in speech sound more apodictic? Neil, what perform you think?"

Neil agreed that noisy at the bankers was probably not an authentic natural action for this time period and this movement. I was nearly to write silent posture-in on our brainstorming chart when Larry, usually quiet, interrupted. "Teacher Katharine, couldn't we peach? You know, to follow our courage?"

The class agreed that singing matched the meter period and the strategies we had knowing.

In the improvisation, Neil had acted very other than from the civil rights activists we had studied. What, I wondered, did Neil's overacting have to do with his whiteness? Did race have anything to do with Sandy, a black student, deciding she wanted her character to be a child? I watched and listened closely as students brainstormed ideas together to see if my students of color were connected. Had they non been, had the brainstorming been by and large white person students, I might have abandoned surgery revised the project. But Shaniece had lots of ideas to contribution and suggestions for strengthening other citizenry's ideas. Beachlike wanted her theatrical role to speak in almost every scene. Jason was willing to play a white banker because he said we needed to have someone play the bad guy. Given the eager participation of my students of color, I matte certain about moving forward.

We generated a series of scenes that showed the quandary faced by African Americans in redlined Portland and gave voice to justice aside acting taboo how they mightiness have protested. The classify united to open with an Continent American class discussing their trust to move and fears of being denied. Subsequent scenes included that family attempting to get serve from bankers, realtors, and officialdom. The students decided on a sit-in equally the action the people would take when no ace would help.

On that point was a debate around whether some white neighbors would conjoin the sit-in as allies. Audrey insisted that whatsoever white neighbors would have helped. She grabbedWe March andMy Brother Steve Martin to show the class pictures of blacken citizenry and White race working together for justice. Finally, the class agreed that unity white neighbor would become an ally, but others would bear redlining.

The grade distinct to end the play with victory. The justice fighters are successful in changing the mind of the mayor number 1, and then the bankers and realtors. The final scene is a housewarming party at the African American family's new house. And everyone is invited.

I appointed scenes to small groups for committal to writing. I typed these up and returned the first draft of the play to the class the following daylight.

"These scenes are wonderful," I told the students. "Today we need to make the scenes all fit collectively." I had students read the playact in their minuscule groups, marking their favorite parts with highlighters and placing question Marks connected spots that were confusing. I deepened the class back to the rug with their marked up drafts. We used joint writing to revise the bring. I retyped everything and we had a play.

Then we practiced. A lot.

When the daylight of the execution arrived, the kids were teased and nervous as family members and the principal took their seats. Everyone in the classify had a part. And they did information technology! They acted out the whole play, final by inviting the consultation to unite in a round of "We Shall Not Glucinium Affected."

I am proud the learning my students did. They demonstrated perceptive of some very big ideas done their talk, their writing, and the production of an original play. When I be intimate over again, there are things I volition change. I will begin with the stories of everyday people taking fulfill against multiracial injustice, then use that as a springboard for learnedness about the broader existent events. I will draw links to other movements, like protective undocumented immigrants' rights. I will invite guest speakers: people who have lived in the vicinity for decades and lawyers WHO fought against redlining.

I will earn changes to my didactics, but I South Korean won't shy absent from doing this big learning about justness with little kids. IT is through creating spaces in our classrooms for children to practise acting for judicature that we manifest Bob Hope that they will take action in the world escaped. Without opportunities to spill about race and power, justice and injustice, we cannot bear that children will formulate a critical lens to view these issues in their lives.

Although sections of the play don't oppose the historical record, that was less important to me than the action of practicing acting for justice. I wanted my students to germinate a habit of mind that they could carry with them—that little voice that whispers, "Somehow, together we can change the ma."

RESOURCES

There is a picture book about fair housing,The Fair Housing Five & the Haunted House, written by the Greater New Orleans Bonnie Housing Fulfi Kernel (fairhousingfive.org).

Where to Black People Live in Portland Oregon?

Source: https://rethinkingschools.org/articles/why-is-this-the-only-place-in-portland-i-see-black-people-teaching-young-children-about-redlining-4/

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