The Story of African Americans and Other Nonwhites in Portland, Part I

Tweet Since I moved here three weeks ago, and even when I visited, I noticed the dirth of ethnic diversity in central Portland and in the close-in neighborhoods. So I decided to investigate why this may be and found a great resource in Carl Abbott’s book, Portland in Three Centuries, the Place and the People, published in 2011. Below is the story of the nonwhite population of Portland, with an emphasis on the African American story, based on Abbot’s book. I will publish it in two parts. This is part I. In the 1860s, Portland’s African American population grew from…