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Maedhros

(10,007 posts)

7. Oregon was a hotbed of KKK activity in the 20's,

Reply to KamaAina (Original post)

Thu Jan 22, 2015, 08:55 PM

Jan 2015

especially in the south around Medford/Grants Pass and on the coast near Tillamook.

In college in the 80's we were driving from Corvallis to the coast. On a whim, we took the little-used Alsea Highway (34) instead of the wider and well-traveled Highway 20. We stopped for fuel at some tiny little gas station/market somewhere in the Coast Range, and noticed a sign over the door that read "No N*****s." We got the hell out of there as quickly as possible.

I'd expect something like that in the 50's or 60's, but 1985? Wow.

People see "Portlandia" and think that all of Oregon is like that. I grew up on the eastern side of the Cascades, and let me tell you: Prineville, Burns, Redmond, Klamath Falls, Lakeview - those ain't Portland.

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Oregon Was Founded As a Racist Utopia [View all] KamaAina Jan 2015 OP

Yep, it's a dark history of Oregon and one of the reasons to this day Oregon is very White. dilby Jan 2015 #1

I went to Willamette University in Salem Oregon as a 17 year old freshman in1968. panader0 Jan 2015 #2

Plenty of blacks came to work in war industries in portland as well. ND-Dem Jan 2015 #15

Oregon had a long history of racism. former9thward Jan 2015 #3

Tell me someplace in the US that didn't. ND-Dem Jan 2015 #12

Sure, tell me another state that outlawed Catholic schools. former9thward Jan 2015 #17

whatever that has to do with the price of dentures. ND-Dem Jan 2015 #18

Who do you think was the driver of the legislation? former9thward Jan 2015 #19

In this case, the KKK had more to do with anti-catholicism. ND-Dem Jan 2015 #20

There is a history of discrimination in the West, LuvNewcastle Jan 2015 #4

Here is a link to a good overview of the local history where I am Bluenorthwest Jan 2015 #5

Also Oregon was an Anti-gay Utopia that sterilized homosexuals. dilby Jan 2015 #6

Not surprisingly, you didn't report the full story. ND-Dem Jan 2015 #16

Yeah and they passed a similar law again in 1917. n/t dilby Jan 2015 #23

"similar law" = a eugenics law, same as a lot of states had. ND-Dem Jan 2015 #24

The summary from your link. dilby Jan 2015 #26

"Women made up 59 percent of the 509 sterilizations recorded at the Oregon State Hospital in Salem ND-Dem Jan 2015 #28

Oregon was a hotbed of KKK activity in the 20's, Maedhros Jan 2015 #7

+1 F4lconF16 Jan 2015 #8

In Vermont, 97% of the population is white, and less than 1% is African American. oberliner Jan 2015 #9

I can hazard a guess KamaAina Jan 2015 #10

I guess that would explain it oberliner Jan 2015 #21

Tough job market with low pay and very high cost of living glasshouses Jan 2015 #22

It's got less than a million people and is a haven for trust fund types. ND-Dem Jan 2015 #25

Not unique in that respect. And in the East and South, slave labor was the basis of the economy, so ND-Dem Jan 2015 #11

And today, it's a reliable blue state Yavin4 Jan 2015 #13

By contrast, a century ago, Oklahoma was a hotbed of socialism KamaAina Jan 2015 #14

Oklahoma was also very racist back then too Major Nikon Jan 2015 #27

I love my state for many reasons. LWolf Aug 2015 #29