Portland and it's race problem.

How It Connects to Housing

Does Portland even have one?

Wait what ? does Portland even really have a race problem? I mean after all Portland has been described as a liberal utopia, it has a more robust healthcare system compared to other states and often ranks high in terms of positive attitudes towards social and economic equality. It has been ahead of the curve in many progressive policies that some would call far left thorough out the 2000's.

Whilst that may be the case, Portland suffers from issues one that can be described as arrogance. Looking like liberals patting themselves on the back and ignoring the history of city and the overall ethnic makeup.

Portland is located in Oregon, a state that historically did not allow black people. Our state became one in 1859 and only later allowed black people to reside and own land in 1926, over a 100 years later from the states inception. It had a large influence from the Klux Clan that permeates.

Historically we know that when you are not given a head start in terms of owning land and having a lack of job opportunities you fail to accumulate generational wealth, a massive indicator for economic success and home ownership, this negatively impacts black people the most.

Portland is home to one of the whitest "major" cities in all of America and already faces home ownership issues with rising costs of inflation, zoning laws and lines and a city that refuses to expand (to some credit for good reason) this ends up hitting low income black people the most who make a mere 8 % of the city's total population.

Now why is this an issue ? How does this all connect to housing. Well for starters in order to have civilized society one can say that an advanced society takes care of those in need, meaning it has advanced to meet the basic needs and can help solve issues. When Portland has redlining and allows for gentrification such as only allowing single family homes that mainly wealthy white people can own, it pushes out poorer communities.

When this happens, it can cause gentrification, businesses move in that are no longer affordable to poorer communities such as gentrified black communities in Portland . This pushes out these communities who often are people of color and the vicious cycle continues of inequality in a city that claims to be vehemently against it. We lose diversity, whatever we had left, we lose businesses, we lose the real values and principles we claim we are so for. We should never allow our city to hit the most vulnerable communities the hardest, the very ones that helped build Portland in the first place with it's railways. It comes to no surprise that often those overrepresented in homelessness are black despite the fact they are a small representation of the overall population in Portland

My conclusion. Do we have a race problem? Yes, does it connect to housing? Absolutely? and it maters why? Because if we claim to be for equality lets show it. Let's not be the common stereotype of a white city speaking for it's black residents all whilst ignoring the very core issues, some that we may have all to well contributed to.