Albina in 1960 and 1975 seen from above, before and after displacement of Black Portlanders.
A report from graduate students in Portland State’s Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) program documents in detail the impact of Legacy Emanuel’s displacement of Black Portlanders in the 1970s. The report not only further explores the history of Portland’s choice to tear down some 300 homes and businesses in Albina to make way for Legacy Emanuel (previously Emanuel Hospital), but also demonstrates the financial and emotional impact the community endured.
The report argues that Black Portlanders who were displaced are owed $89 million in property wealth appreciation, and that to further remedy the situation, the city should create a restitution task force to guide a plan for repayment.
“The goal of the report is to ‘show’ the intentional forced removal of Black neighborhoods in Portland with a focus on the Emanuel Hospital expansion,” said Byrd, who goes by her first name and whose family was one of 300 residences and businesses displaced in 1971. “We settled on this subject because it's the only local act of urban renewal with a local policy and Federal Restitution Agreement for replacement housing for the homes that were demolished. Ultimately, the utility of the report is a defensible argument for restitution for impacted families.”
The report was developed in partnership with Emanuel Displaced Persons Association 2 (EDPA2), a community-based group co-founded by Byrd that is made up of descendents of the displaced families.
“We made a series of recommendations that, while limited to policy, point toward small, tangible, accountable ways that the City and Emanuel Hospital can move beyond symbolism, to meaningful restitution,” said Ariel Kane, one of the MURP students who compiled the report.
Some of those recommendations for the city of Portland and Legacy Emanuel include acknowledging harm and honoring the history and paying restitution.
“They prompt those culpable to build upon this student and community research to determine realistic, meaningful and tangible restitution to this community,” Kane added.
Using assessor data and current real market value, the students were also able to estimate wealth loss and adjust for inflation. They estimate the displaced Albina families are owed $89 million, if not more, in property wealth appreciation that should be repaid to descendents of those families.
"The hard work — the critical work — is not in saying we won’t do it again, it is in looking earnestly into the eyes of those harmed, acknowledging, apologizing, and doing what it takes to make it right," the report reads.
EDPA2 is hosting a virtual discussion Feb. 14 to provide the community with an opportunity to share their thoughts on the report. Byrd added EDPA2 also has an opportunity to purchase a Black-owned home with historic significance in the Albina neighborhood and is fundraising to purchase the home and use it to center EDPA2’s work.
“This is more than a report. It is life. It is a decision, a thought, a plan, a strategy and so much more for how people will live, die, walk, where they'll eat, who they'll interact with and so much more,” she said. “It isn't a dead history but rather a projection for an enhanced life. Most importantly, the PSU community should understand, this is just the beginning.”