Oregon remains one of the whitest states in the union, a legacy of the state's exclusion of all people of color upon entering the Union.
But African-Americans have made significant contributions to the state throughout its history. And those contributions are recognized in the first-ever Black History Month observance at the Oregon State Archives.
"Black in Oregon, 1840-1870" is now on display, and it is the subject of this month's edition of Underground History. Regular contributor Chelsea Rose visits with Layne Sawyer from the Archives about the presentation.