Storified by Evan ·
Tue, Dec 05 2017 06:51:47
Portland, Oregon is known and stereotyped internationally for its weirdness, liberalism, and progressiveness. I call this city my home. An overwhelming progressive and liberal mindset sweeps over the city, influencing many decisions both small and large. On the surface, Portland is one of the most progressive cities in the US. However, in the past few years, Portland’s progressiveness has come into question due to increased conversations on racism. Comparing conversations regarding the city's history, politics, racially motivated crime, and gentrification with traditional views of Portland, this paper explores the city's true values.
Portlandia is a television show based on Portland's culture. It is a parody of what life is like in Portland. With eight total seasons, millions of viewers, and an Emmy, unsurprisingly, Portlandia is what many people think of Portland. In this video, viewers are taken behind the scenes of the show.
Portlandia has contributed largely to how the city is perceived, but Portlandia is biased, choosing to show positive aspects of the city, and fails to include many of Portland's flaws. Carry Browenstein, the show's co-star, states, "we want to show what we see." The show supports a progressive narrative.
Traditionally, Portland’s culture is inline with this Tweet which refers to an article titled, "Oregon Burrito Shop Closes Amid Possible Cultural Appropriation". Generally, people in Portland care deeply about liberal causes and are quick to support groups like Black Lives Matter and Planned Parenthood; for example, multiple churches in the city bolster large #blacklivesmatter banners on the sides of their cathedrals. Tweets like this add to the conversation that Portland is a liberal city.
But, Portland holds a hidden, dark past of racism.
CBS News posted a 30 minute long video titled "Portland: Race Against the Past" on October 30th, 2017 to its Youtube channel. The video details the city's past and ongoing struggles with racism. CBS's Youtube channel has 487 thousand subscribers, yet this video only has 4.4 thousand views. IFC's Youtube channel, where Portlandia clips are posted, maintains about 70 thousand subscribers, yet each Portlandia video averages over 20 thousand views. Contrasting these two pages and view counts shows that the perception of Portland leans towards what is depicted in Portlandia rather than what is on the news.
On May 26th, 2017, two men were stabbed to death while protecting two muslim women from a white supremacist on a train. This event forced people in Portland and nationwide to question how an event like this could occur in a city like Portland. "The deadly hate crime that shocked Portland" brought the traditional narrative of Portland into question.
Because the primary narrative on Portland is of progressiveness and liberalism, this horrific crime seemed extremely out-of-place and wrong as expressed in @michelemcmahon's tweet. The user states the hate crime "devastated an incredibly progressive community." But in reality and historically, events like this are not unprecedented in Portland. Walidah Imaraisha, an Oregon Black history expert, featured in Adam's article states, "I was absolutely not shocked. It's in the DNA of Oregon." People who understand the history of Oregon were not shocked by this crime because events like this are not unusual in a place built on racism.
Keegan Stephan, a Twitter verified writer and political organizer in New York City, grew up just outside of Portland, Oregon. Stephan's tweets challenge the traditional narrative and outlines why Portland is not as progressive as implied in @michelemcmahon tweet.
Although the original posts are not shown, both Stephan's and @michelemcmahon's tweets are in response to the aforementioned hate-crime, yet each tweet supports a different narrative. @michelemcmahon suggests Portland is progressive, while Stephan does the exact opposite. The Racist History of Portland, The Whitest City in America by Alana Semuels, puts Stephan's tweet into context. Semuels, a harvard alumni and writer for The Atlantic, details Portland's history with racism. Portland, Oregon was engineered to be a white utopia. Black people were not allowed to live in Oregon until 1868. Once allowed into the state, they were segregated across the river into what is now Northeast Portland, . Portland's history left lasting marks on the city; 78% or residents are white and only 2% are black. Walidah Imarisha, again featured in Semuels' article, states, “People are like, ‘Why do you bring up this history? It’s gone, it’s in the past, it’s dead' . . . While the mechanisms may have changed, if the outcome is the same, then actually has anything changed? Obviously that ideology of a racist white utopia is still very much in effect.” The old mechanisms Imarisha refers to are the explicit racist laws which influenced people of color a hundred years ago. Now, the mechanisms Imarisha is referencing are policies which subtly favor whites in housing and business which leads to problems like the gentrification of historically black neighborhoods (Semuels). "By design" Portland is the whitest city in America and continues to have issues with racism because of it.
Stephan gives an example of his experience with racism in Oregon. Someone as respected as a judge was unable to escape racism in Portland. A tweet like this reminds people that issues of racism are not just reemerging, but have been steadily occurring throughout the city's history.
Being one of the whitest cities in America, Portland's culture is formed from a mostly white perspective. Along with Portland's ties to racism, it is no surprise that some young people held racist beliefs in Stephan's school. In Portland, there is no exposure to other cultures which allows racism to thrive. Stephan's Tweet reminds people that the culture in Portland was created based on one point-of-view. This tweet reiterates the fact that Portland seems progressive, but this comes from a mostly white perspective. Through social media, Keegan Stephan is able to challenge the norm of how people think about Portland, Oregon. His tweets challenge how progressive and liberal Portland can be while racist events occur frequently.