Oregon bears a permanent stain from joining the union (in 1859) with black "exclusion laws" on the books. Nobody with dark skin was allowed to live in the state.
The laws neither got much enforcement nor lasted long, but African Americans remain a small minority. A significant one, though... and the history of African Americans in Oregon is celebrated in the photographic display "Black Legend, Black, Oregon," on display in the governor's office through late March.
Intisar Abioto is the photographer and artist who assembled the work. She visits the Exchange with Rob Goodwin, the host of our regular segment The Keenest Observers.
