Document text
June 29, 2004 - Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels May 17, 2004 Black in Oregon By Chris Honore It could be argued that though much has changed in America regarding racial equality and integration, the resolution of these national issues has remained elusive, and the promise of equal protection under the law, as defined by our constitution, has yet to be fulfilled. No state has been exempt from the exigencies of racism and discrimination, regardless of its homogeneous population. Oregon is no exception. Photos courtesy Southern Oregon Historical Society The Knights of the Ku Klux Klan on parade in Ashland, probably on the Fourth of July, 1921 or 1922. No one in the photo has been identified, but it is most likely that the marchers were all members of the Ashland Klan, which had an extremely flourishing membership list of prominent citizens. While Oregon was certainly not a target state regarding the Brown v. Board of Education decision (in 1950, there were only 11,529 blacks in Oregon out of a total population of 1,521,341), the state has had a unique history of race relations. And though Oregon, because of its demographics, was not subjected to much of the upheaval regarding court-ordered integration experienced in the South and the Northeast throughout the late 1950s. '60s and into the 1970s it has not escaped the insidious tides of racism. Consider that in 1859, when the constitution for the state was completed, two articles were included that would define the demographics of the state for almost 70 years. Article I, No. 35, read: "No free Negro or mulatto, not residing in this state at the time 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; and the legislative assembly shall provide by penal laws for the removal by public officers of all such negroes and mulattos and for their effectual exclusion from the state and for the punishment of persons who shall bring them into the state, or employ or harbor them." Article II, section 6, read: "No negro, chinaman, or mulatto shall have the right of suffrage." Article I was repealed in 1926 and Article II was repealed in 1927. Clearly, in retrospect, these two articles seem antithetical to our constitution as defined specifically in the 13th and 14th amendments. However, in the context of the time, they were not considered aberrant. Exacerbating the two constitutional articles was the presence of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan in Oregon in the early 1920s. During this time there were only 2000 blacks in the entire state with a total population of 783,389; as late as 1940 there were no blacks in Ashland. According to several studies, such as "The KKK in Jackson County" by Joan Handbury, and a series of articles in "The Table Rock Sentinel," the Klan was established in Jackson County in 1921 and by 1922 there were an estimated 14,000-25,000 members statewide. The rallying points of the Klan were lax prohibition laws and the proposed Public School Amendment (an amendment requiring all children to attend public and not parochial schools). Those few black citizens (and any other "undesirables" that the Klan could find) were harassed and given what was called a "necktie party," meaning they were taken into the woods, a rope was placed around their necks and thrown over a tree branch, and they were raised up and forced to stand on their toes while choking. After being asked to repent, they were told to leave the state. During the Klan's zenith of popularity, it managed to co-opt local authorities and state representatives. What was referred to as "The Invisible Government" held sway in the state. Its platform was vague when it came to defining what it was for, other than white supremacy and the American way; however, the Klan was very clear on what it was against: Catholics, minorities, Jews, aliens, as well as bootleggers and drifters who were unemployed and those who were deemed immoral. Crosses were burned around Ashland and Medford. Night riders terrorized neighborhoods. People were taken from their homes in the name of right thinking, patriotism, and practical benevolence. By 1924, the Klan began to fade, its influence much diminished. Where once it could count prominent men and women as members (there was a Ladies' Auxiliary), to include an assistant district attorney, officials of the telephone company, Standard Oil and the Southern Pacific Railroad, its membership rolls dwindled and the organization all but disappeared from the state and vigilantism went with it. DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams