Sponsor "Black in Oregon: 1840-1870" Exhibition


Item Number: 253

Time Left: CLOSED

Value: $1,000

Online Close: Oct 5, 2020 6:00 AM PDT

Purchase History: 2 items sold

Description

Sponsor this important and timely exhibition!


The Benton County Historical Society will be exhibiting “Black in Oregon: 1840-1870” from the Oregon Black Pioneers historical society in Salem, Oregon.  The exhibition was created in 2018 for display at the Oregon State Capitol.  The exhibition will be held January and February 2021. 


This exhibit highlights the lives of early black pioneers who came to Oregon between 1840 and 1870. This early settlement period is of particular interest because of Oregon’s laws regarding the immigration of blacks to Oregon. At various times, the Provisional and Territorial governments passed laws excluding blacks from residing in the area, and Oregon’s Constitution, adopted in 1857, included specific language forbidding either free or enslaved blacks who did not already reside in the new state.


Despite the discriminatory laws, there were a number of blacks who settled in Oregon during these years. In this exhibit, we shine a light on their experiences through surviving, documentary evidence. The stories illustrated here relate to people brought to Oregon as slaves and those of free blacks who made the perilous journey west, possibly motivated by new opportunities and the chance for a better life.


 

Special Instructions

Sponsors will be recognized in the BCHS Newsletter and with gallery signage unless they desire to remain anonymous.