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<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); line-height: normal;">National Park Service lists African American Resources in Portland in the National Register of Historic Places</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">Two National Register nominations recommended by Oregon’s State Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation (SACHP) at their February 2020 meeting have been accepted by the National Park Service and listed
in the National Register of Historic Places.</span></p>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">These important documents outline the history of African Americans in Portland Oregon. The African American Resources in Portland from 1851- 1973 Multiple Property Document provides a comprehensive history
and tool for future listings of other African American properties. The Williams Avenue YWCA building has been a dedicated place over time for African American organizations to gather for socialization, recreation, and activism.</span></p>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">This effort is in line with Oregon’s Statewide Preservation Plan that seeks to diversify the resources listed in the National Register and continue to tell the stories and uplift the voices of those previously
marginalized. The African American MPD serves as a tool that also supports Goal 1 of the Oregon Heritage Plan. By including more voices in the stories told of Oregon’s past, Oregonians can think critically about history and work to accurately depict a more
complete historical narrative of Oregon. Understanding all aspects of Oregon’s history allows one to reckon with the past and have better conversations about the present.</span></p>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">“Numerous National Register properties are listed in Portland, however, there are many more places that tell the diverse history of Oregon that have yet to be listed,” says Christine Curran, Deputy State
Historic Preservation Officer. “The African American MPD will be a useful tool to increase the diversity of nominations and tell a richer and fuller story of Oregon’s past.”</span></p>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">As part of a Certified Local Government grant, the City of Portland worked with Kim Moreland, Raymond Burrell, and Cathy Galbraith to complete two documents related to Portland’s African American history.
The idea was to create a context document that would make it easier to list those places significant for Portland’s African American community.</span></p>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">“The Architectural Heritage Center, Oregon Black Pioneers, Portland African American Leadership Forum, and countless individuals have long called for recognition and designation of important African American
historic sites.” Explains Brandon Spencer-Hartle, City Planner in the City of Portland Bureau of Planning & Sustainability. “The listing of this MPD in the National Register is long overdue and will serve as a model for prioritizing and protecting Portland’s
important BIPOC spaces, many of which have been inexcusably and deliberately overlooked by past planning efforts.”</span></p>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">Williams Avenue YWCA</span></strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;"> – Currently the Billy Webb Elks Lodge #1050 at 6 N. Tillamook St., the building has long been a dedicated
place for the African American community. The early history of the property has a special association with African American women’s history, as the site was developed by the African American branch of the YWCA. The Portland branch of the National Association
for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) located its offices in the basement of the building from 1956 through 1964, and the Oregon Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs, Urban League of Portland, and Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) also held gatherings
in its meeting rooms, auditorium, and lounge space. After more than nine decades of continuous association with Portland’s African American community, the building remains owned and occupied by a historically African American organization (the Billy Webb Elks
of the Improved Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks of the World, or IBPOEW).</span></p>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">African American Resources in Portland, from 1851 to 1973 Multiple Property Document</span></strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;"> - This document provides an overview
of the history of African Americans in Portland through seven different historical contexts and establishes a framework for identifying and listing Portland’s African American resources in the National Register of Historic Places. This thematic document provides
resources and guidance for individuals interested in listing properties in the National Register. If anyone is interested in listing a significant African American resource in Portland or would like to learn more about how to use this document, please contact
Robert Olguin at </span><a href="mailto:Robert.olguin@oregon.gov"><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">Robert.olguin@oregon.gov</span></a></p>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">Thematic Contexts discussed in the document include:</span></p>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">African Americans in Early Oregon</span></li><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;"></span>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">Business and Employment</span></li><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;"></span>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">Entertainment and Recreation</span></li><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;"></span>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">Religion and Worship</span></li><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;"></span>
<li style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">Settlement Patterns</span></li><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;"></span>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">Journalism</span></li><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;"></span>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">Benevolent and Fraternal Societies</span></li><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;"></span>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">Civil Rights</span></li></ul>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">The National Register is maintained by the National Park Service under the authority of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. More information about the National Register and recent Oregon lists
is online at </span><a href="http://www.oregonheritage.org"><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">oregonheritage.org</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;"> (listed under “Designate”).</span></p>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">Properties listed in the National Register are:</span></p>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">Recognized as significant to the nation, state, or community;</span></li><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;"></span>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">Considered in the planning of federal or federally assisted projects;</span></li><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;"></span>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">Eligible for federal and state tax benefits;</span></li><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;"></span>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">Qualify for historic preservation grants when funds are available;</span></li><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;"></span>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">Eligible for leniency in meeting certain building code requirements;</span></li><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;"></span>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">Subject to local laws pertaining to the conservation and protection of historic resources.</span></li></ul>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">National Register listing does not place any restrictions on a property at the state or federal level, unless property owners choose to participate in tax benefit or grant programs.</span></p>
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<p><b><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">***********************</span></b></p>
<p><span style="font-size:9.0pt; font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">Share your photos of Oregon’s heritage on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter using #oregonheritage.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:9.0pt; font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:9.0pt; font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">Oregon Heritage News is a service of Oregon Heritage, a division of the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. The news editor can be contacted at
<a href="mailto:heritage.info@oregon.gov" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">
heritage.info@oregon.gov</a>.</span></p>
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