Some Oklahomans are mad/defensive about my recent thread about the White supremacist history of OK.
I get that & can sympathize. "History is what hurts." Americans are hurting right now. We should be.
Many say:
What about YOUR state?
I& #39;m glad you asked.
A THREAD ABOUT OREGON https://twitter.com/shamblanderson/status/1274358937169600514">https://twitter.com/shambland...
I get that & can sympathize. "History is what hurts." Americans are hurting right now. We should be.
Many say:
What about YOUR state?
I& #39;m glad you asked.
A THREAD ABOUT OREGON https://twitter.com/shamblanderson/status/1274358937169600514">https://twitter.com/shambland...
I am from Oregon.
It takes NO DIGGING at all to get to Oregon& #39;s White supremacist roots.
It was founded as — to quote @WalidahImarisha — "a racist White utopia." https://www.opb.org/news/article/oregon-white-history-racist-foundations-black-exclusion-laws/">https://www.opb.org/news/arti...
It takes NO DIGGING at all to get to Oregon& #39;s White supremacist roots.
It was founded as — to quote @WalidahImarisha — "a racist White utopia." https://www.opb.org/news/article/oregon-white-history-racist-foundations-black-exclusion-laws/">https://www.opb.org/news/arti...
Oregon has been aggressively anti-Native https://www.opb.org/artsandlife/series/brokentreaties/oregon-tribes-oral-history-broken-treaties/">https://www.opb.org/artsandli...
and anti-Black https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2017/06/07/when-portland-banned-blacks-oregons-shameful-history-as-an-all-white-state/">https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retr...
and anti-Japanese
https://oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/japanese_internment/#.Xu9j7JNKgWo">https://oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/...
https://oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/japanese_internment/#.Xu9j7JNKgWo">https://oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/...
& there are modern-day White supremacist terror attacks https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2017/05/man_accused_in_max_attack_cont.html">https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/...
& here& #39;s a recent threat of *beheading* in my VeRy pRoGrEsSiVe university hometown of Eugene, Oregon https://publicintegrity.org/politics/rising-hate-drives-latinos-and-immigrants-into-silence/">https://publicintegrity.org/politics/...
Like most other White kids in the USA (in every state), I grew up not learning any of this history.
What I learned was: "racism is bad."
But racism was defined as something that happened elsewhere, mostly in the South, bc of slavery, & it took obvious forms: violence and slurs.
What I learned was: "racism is bad."
But racism was defined as something that happened elsewhere, mostly in the South, bc of slavery, & it took obvious forms: violence and slurs.
I didn& #39;t question why there were no Black people in my life in Oregon. I thought it was just a natural fact of the ecosystem, like the presence of Douglas Firs.
I didn& #39;t realize, until shockingly late, that it was a product of deliberate legal exclusion.
https://www.dailyemerald.com/archives/minorities-still-feel-eugene-s-historical-link-to-the-ku-klux-klan/article_8c44bc8c-17f1-5ad3-a2b8-1d017eeb4af3.html">https://www.dailyemerald.com/archives/...
I didn& #39;t realize, until shockingly late, that it was a product of deliberate legal exclusion.
https://www.dailyemerald.com/archives/minorities-still-feel-eugene-s-historical-link-to-the-ku-klux-klan/article_8c44bc8c-17f1-5ad3-a2b8-1d017eeb4af3.html">https://www.dailyemerald.com/archives/...
Actually, it was Oklahoma that helped teach me about Oregon.
I tried to write a book about the history & shape of OKC, & I realized that you can& #39;t tell that story w/o White supremacy.
So I told it. It made me rethink my whole childhood, my whole identity, my whole origin story.
I tried to write a book about the history & shape of OKC, & I realized that you can& #39;t tell that story w/o White supremacy.
So I told it. It made me rethink my whole childhood, my whole identity, my whole origin story.
Yesterday was Father& #39;s Day — my father was a deeply kind and gentle man and VERY Oregonian. He wore flannel & played folk music & loved hiking. He adored Oregon and he taught me to adore it too.
He died last year & I still think about him every day. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/04/magazine/jeopardy-alex-trebek-cancer.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/0...
He died last year & I still think about him every day. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/04/magazine/jeopardy-alex-trebek-cancer.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/0...
Every July 4, my father ran the "Butte to Butte" 10k race in Eugene, OR.
(He has this spectacular vintage wardrobe of racing shirts from 40+ years.)
The run ended at Skinner Butte — an impossibly scenic thrust of volcanic rock right in the center of downtown.
(He has this spectacular vintage wardrobe of racing shirts from 40+ years.)
The run ended at Skinner Butte — an impossibly scenic thrust of volcanic rock right in the center of downtown.
As a middle-aged man, I finally looked up the history of Skinner Butte.
The Native Kalapuya knew it as "high place" (~"Ya-Po-Ah").
But it was renamed after Eugene Skinner, the town& #39;s 1st white settler.
In the 1920s, the Klan used to burn crosses up there so everyone could see.
The Native Kalapuya knew it as "high place" (~"Ya-Po-Ah").
But it was renamed after Eugene Skinner, the town& #39;s 1st white settler.
In the 1920s, the Klan used to burn crosses up there so everyone could see.
Eugene was a notorious Sundown Town — Black citizens knew they couldn& #39;t be there after dark. Later, a permanent cross was installed on Skinner Butte. There& #39;s still a plaque marking the spot. ("Illuminated Timber Crosses.") Eugene& #39;s Black population is still minuscule (~1.5%).
Here& #39;s an unofficial database of Sundown Towns. Click around — you will probably be surprised.
It turns out I lived EXCLUSIVELY in Sundown Towns (in Oregon & California) until I was 21. Which explains a hell of a lot.
https://sundown.tougaloo.edu/content.php?file=sundowntowns-whitemap.html">https://sundown.tougaloo.edu/content.p...
It turns out I lived EXCLUSIVELY in Sundown Towns (in Oregon & California) until I was 21. Which explains a hell of a lot.
https://sundown.tougaloo.edu/content.php?file=sundowntowns-whitemap.html">https://sundown.tougaloo.edu/content.p...
Oregon didn& #39;t *feel* racist to me. Bc it was designed for me, a White kid, to feel at home in. That& #39;s the point of systemic racism for the in-group: you don& #39;t have to be conscious of it/THINK of yourself as bad. It runs in the background shaping everything
https://www.dailyemerald.com/archives/minorities-still-feel-eugene-s-historical-link-to-the-ku-klux-klan/article_8c44bc8c-17f1-5ad3-a2b8-1d017eeb4af3.html">https://www.dailyemerald.com/archives/...
https://www.dailyemerald.com/archives/minorities-still-feel-eugene-s-historical-link-to-the-ku-klux-klan/article_8c44bc8c-17f1-5ad3-a2b8-1d017eeb4af3.html">https://www.dailyemerald.com/archives/...
(BTW most of this is so head-slappingly obv, & has been for so many decades/centuries, that it is a nat& #39;l scandal that we W.P., myself incl, are still having these conversations—talking about IF/WHERE/HUH? rather than the hard stuff of what& #39;s next. Gotta start where you are FML.)
So when you say:
"Stop picking on Oklahoma—what about Oregon??"
(or California, NY, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, N Carolina, etc)
I say: yes, absolutely, all of them.
This isn& #39;t some hot potato White supremacy game: "You& #39;re it!!!" It& #39;s EVERYWHERE. It& #39;s the USA.
"Stop picking on Oklahoma—what about Oregon??"
(or California, NY, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, N Carolina, etc)
I say: yes, absolutely, all of them.
This isn& #39;t some hot potato White supremacy game: "You& #39;re it!!!" It& #39;s EVERYWHERE. It& #39;s the USA.
I wasn& #39;t arguing that Oklahoma (which I know deeply bc of my book) is *uniquely* racist.
I argue the opposite: it is perfectly representative of the White supremacist US.
OK& #39;s stories are just (bc of its origins) wildly condensed / dramatic versions of our nation-wide sins.
I argue the opposite: it is perfectly representative of the White supremacist US.
OK& #39;s stories are just (bc of its origins) wildly condensed / dramatic versions of our nation-wide sins.
Recognizing the true history of where you live doesn& #39;t invalidate your connection to the place. It doesn& #39;t even have to diminish yr love.
But it should definitely complicate it.
Complication is good. Humans are complex. Our culture is sick w childish myths of purity/perfection.
But it should definitely complicate it.
Complication is good. Humans are complex. Our culture is sick w childish myths of purity/perfection.
I don& #39;t actually think you can love a place until you see it honestly, for real. I love Oregon. I love Oklahoma. AND they& #39;re both incredibly messed up. It& #39;s my job to understand how and actually work against it.
White supremacy is a crime. It distorts everything it touches.
I keep coming back to Clara Luper. Justice isn& #39;t some zero-sum dominance ritual. We don& #39;t have to be bullies & terrorists. Educate yourself, understand, listen honestly, do work, get better. https://twitter.com/shamblanderson/status/1274358954219487238?s=20">https://twitter.com/shambland...
I keep coming back to Clara Luper. Justice isn& #39;t some zero-sum dominance ritual. We don& #39;t have to be bullies & terrorists. Educate yourself, understand, listen honestly, do work, get better. https://twitter.com/shamblanderson/status/1274358954219487238?s=20">https://twitter.com/shambland...