GENTRIFICATION IN PORTLAND

Gentrification: a word I have heard so often, but had little-to-no understanding of when I was younger. Go figure, a minority like me – African-American – with no grasp of the term.

When you look it up, a typical definition you get is “a process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in politics and in urban planning.”

What that means to me is, wealthy people moving into an area that is typically seen as poor or “ghetto” and commodifying it by bringing in businesses you would typically find in wealthier and, I hate to say it, whiter, neighborhoods, and building housing and/or driving up the rent so the original residents can’t really afford to live there anymore.

You can go anywhere in America and you’ll definitely see the difference. As I’ve long heard, you can find a Whole Foods or a Starbucks anywhere, but you won’t find a soul food shack or a tamale place in those same areas. What is meant by that is, when you take race out if it, wealthier people “set up shop” where they see fit and can make a profit, but we minorities/lower income residents can’t always do the same.

It’s like an unwritten rule that many people feel shouldn’t exist.

As a person of color, I have to sit back and read into this, the topic, the whole enchilada, as they say – and the reason why is because I often wonder: Does gentrification often tie into racism or is that just what we are told, instead, to keep an invisible divide?

My mom and I watch documentaries on this type of topic often, and in our household, nothing like this will go unanswered because of course the bigger question will always be there. Yes, it does often boil down to a racial thing, which frankly is sad, because after all this time, all these years, and all the deaths and the suffering, it still comes down to race, whether we all agree or not. Here’s the backstory, explained by High Country News:

“In 1859 when Oregon became a state, its constitution proudly and body stated, ‘No free negro or mulatto not residing in this state at the time of the adoption of this constitution, shall come, reside or be within this state or hold any real estate, or make any contracts, or maintain any suit therein….’ It wasn’t until the year 2001 that voters finally amended the constitution to strike those words.

“Meantime, much like the rest of the country, Oregon was perceived as a “white utopia.” Yet blacks came here anyway – first with (jobs tied to) the railroads in the late 1800s, and then during World War II, with the construction of the Kaiser shipbuilding yards. While that company (Kaiser) had put together a (separate city) north of Portland, Vanport (open to both whites and Blacks, but largely segregating the latter from Portland) in order to house some of the 100,000 workers who flocked to the area, a huge flood in 1948 destroyed it.

“Vanport’s white residents had some choice as to where to move next – while the Blacks did not. They either had to completely leave the area, or move to the Albina district of northeast Portland, which was the only place they could legally buy and rent homes. The code of ethics of the Portland Realty Board actually forbade realtors and bankers from selling or giving loans to ‘Negroes and Orientals’ for properties in what were considered white neighborhoods.

“Across the nation, federal law reinforced this housing discrimination. In 1934 Congress created the Federal Housing Authority to insure private mortgages. This led to lower interest rates, a drop in the size of required down payments, which eventually lowered housing prices. Fair enough. But the FHA rated neighborhoods, using maps: All-white neighborhoods received an “A,” while neighborhoods with even a single Black family received a “D” and were outlined in red. Black people were viewed as a contagion, and no federal money was loaned to what were labeled as “redlined” districts.”

Though the racial injustice isn’t this boldly played out today, legal gentrification is still all around us and is very much active in the greater Portland community, whether we see it or not, or even choose to believe it.

I mean, think about it: When the words “If Blacks/minorities want to live better lives they should just move somewhere better,” are said, it should be said with full knowledge of both sides of the table, not just the side that’s uttering those very words, because it’s just not that simple a choice.

As for Portland, the city has made a lot of progress since those early days of racism and blatant discrimination, but there’s still work that needs to be done, everywhere, not just here.

Still, as I have to be reminded sometimes when I get worried, we are a hell of a lot better off than many other places on this planet. Is gentrification still happening here? Sure, and it’s not fun. It does need to be addressed, head-on, because when we say ‘Enough is enough,’ it needs to be meant.

Even so, Portland is a special place to me because I’ve never really seen anything like it, outside of San Francisco: The mix of colors and personalities and nationalities is beautiful, and that, in and of itself, is really something to be awed by.