Oregon’s Black Pioneers: Full Documentary | Oregon Experience | OPB

Long before Oregon became a state, Black people were in the Far West. Some were brought to the region as slaves, but many others arrived as freemen looking for a new life. They opened boarding houses and stores, worked farms and mined for gold. But as more white settlers arrived over the Oregon Trail, the newcomers passed discriminatory laws to keep African Americans out. “Oregon Experience” examines the largely unknown history of Oregon’s Black pioneers.

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[michaelknapp]

Back in the 1980s my father was given a 19th century picture book of our family ancestors from the 1800s. I was 18 years old and I was flipping through the black and white images. I came across a married couple. The husband was white and his wife was clearly black! I showed my father the picture and we looked them up in our genealogy. Our family are direct descendants of these two people. The pic was taken in 1871 in eastern Oregon. They had children and their children had children and it led to us. I just wanted you to know how proud I am of this. I’m much more proud of this than my Irish heritage. Somewhere deep deep deep in my DNA is this black woman’s genetic background. I don’t know anything more about them and don’t know where they ended up. It just kinda showed how connected us humans truly are in this big world of ours.

[daveodell]

Black history is American history...let’s start teaching ALL of it to EVERYONE.

[MissCharliechop]

A part of history not popularly known, but a story that needs to be told and shared. Thank you for sharing!

[Sari-SS]

This is great to learn all this. I have lived in Oregon since I was 5 and it's a shame that this history wasn't covered when we studied the Pioneers. Passing this history on!

[tracyclark]

Incredible. Moving, inspirational, well documented. PBS does it better than any other media.

[i-vagabond]

I have never been to Oregon or the US Northwest, but I found this to be an extremely interesting, captivating history program. History class would have been so much more enjoyable if we had been shown videos like this when I was in school. History class, more often than not, could be an excruciatingly dry hour to sit through and basicly consisted of taking notes of important names and dates to memorize in order to receive a passing grade.

[walterlinney]

This is the 1st time I heard about Black people in the north west United States. Thanks for the Black history lesson.

[paustinheaton]

Fascinating history. Thank you for posting.

[joylynne]

Thank you for posting this video. It is very informative.

[elaztec.aztecca]

Leticia Carson was a wonderful and strong woman and I’m glad she met that attorney.

[dylanjennings]

Amazing! History major here that has lived in Oregon his whole life and never knew any of this! Plus, so cool to see my name on an old hotel! Both sides of my family went across the Oregon trail and can’t help but wonder if I’m somehow related to that Jennings.

[tylerjayde]

It’s crazy that I graduated from a high school in Oregon and I only heard about the exclusion laws and such recently

[AzucaNegra]

Thank you much. This is very informative.

[amongusbaddje]

learned this in school it’s interesting to watch this documentary living in oregon and all

[reginaromsey]

Wonderful presentation. History that I would really prefer not to be true, but the proof is there for all to see. If at all possible I would love to have one person or family followed more in depth, and possibly to the present day. It seems too that with the people deserving shame, there are many who stood up for right.

[PatriciaHenry]

This kind of mess happened in every place everywhere. Unfair laws tailored to suppress another fellow man. Sad that humans consistently choose to do evil things to one another.

[elainedoornbos]

I wish someone would make movies about these brave people...even, the Mims Home in Eugene, OR where Duke Ellington, Ray Charles & Ella Fitzgerald HAD to stay when, they came to sing, perform & play...SO, NOTEWORTHY BUT, HIDDEN!!

[sahpem]

I appreciate this. I’ve always loved Oregon pioneer history. I’ve read a lot about it over the years but there isn’t much on African American pioneers. Later, I discovered I mostly have relatively modern Irish ancestors and probably no pioneer history. How’s that for irony?

[chocolatetye]

Portland has been my home for over 40 years, and I didn't even know this... My neighbor a white woman, she said, "oh, I know all about the racist history in Oregon."

[danielt.]

Watching this was depressing to me, the sad state of government in places like this was horrendous. I am Jewish and I know all to well that the fate of other minorities is the same as mine.