Celebrating Black, Black History Month
Folks mill between exhibits from Albina Music Trust and Oregon Black Pioneers. Photo by FLI Social.
Black-serving organizations across Portland are celebrating a “Black, Black History Month” this year by hosting a pop-up museum with Creative Homies at The Horizon Enterprise Building in Old Town.
Our Fund is sponsoring the museum!
Though our work often centers Albina as the historic heart of Black life in Portland, Old Town is one of the first neighborhoods where Black folks settled in the city–the railroad brought families from out east in the late 1800s.
It’ll be a pleasure to hold space in that same neighborhood as we celebrate Black life today. This is an everyday practice in our community, but we double-down in February.
Keep your eye on this feed throughout the month—we’ll be updating to reflect new programing! Here’s what you need to know for now:
In the late 1800s, some of the earliest Black families in Portland made their home in Old Town. They were brought by the transcontinental railroad. Photo by Juma Sei.
WHERE
The Horizon Enterprise Building - 433 NW 4TH Avenue, Portland, OR, 97209
WHEN
February 1st, through February 28th.
Hours:
10 AM to 4 PM, Wednesdays through Saturdays.
11 AM to 4 PM on Sundays.
VOLUNTEER
We’d love to have you volunteer and help others navigate the space!
Calvin Walker addresses the crowd at “Soul Conversation,” the Museum’s inaugural event. Photo by FLI Social.
EVENTS
ONE-TIME EVENTS
Paint Event | Word is Bond | 2.15 at 12 - 2 PM
For the Record Artist Talk | Alisa Wilbon | 2.15 at 2 PM | RSVP
Young Black Men Are… Panel Discussion | 2.22 12 - 4 PM | A thought-provoking gallery of 12 local young Black men taken by photographer Jason Hill, each with a different word they chose to represent. Harnessing the soul force of Black boy joy, the essence of The Young Black Men Are_____ campaign is about reclaiming positive media representations of young Black men. This is an interactive gallery where visitors can take their own photos, listen to stories, and write on a special dream wall. Learn more at mywordisbond.org/ybma
RECURRING EVENTS
Book Club | Center for Black Excellence | 2 PM every Saturday | Join CBE’s Executive Director, Aryn Frazier as she reads Jas Hammond’s “We Deserve Monuments.”
MESO Makers Market | MESO | 10 AM - 4 PM, every weekend, except for 2.22-2.23 | MESO will be bringing their market to the “Black, Black History Month” pop-up the first three weekends of February! Their Makers Market cultivates a vibrant community of creators and artisans, providing a unique platform where craftsmanship and innovation converge. It strives to celebrate the talents of people by offering a curated marketplace that connects skilled makers with appreciative audiences. Through this collaborative space, MESO aims to inspire creativity, foster connections, and support the growth of local businesses. Their commitment is to nurture a dynamic environment where handmade, one-of-a-kind creations, and unique products thrive, enriching the cultural tapestry of our community and beyond.
Young Black Men Are… Photoshoot | 10 AM - 4 PM every Saturday | A thought-provoking gallery of 12 local young Black men taken by photographer Jason Hill, each with a different word they chose to represent. Harnessing the soul force of Black boy joy, the essence of The Young Black Men Are_____ campaign is about reclaiming positive media representations of young Black men. This is an interactive gallery where visitors can take their own photos, listen to stories, and write on a special dream wall. Learn more at mywordisbond.org/ybma
Albina Music Trust’s “Wall to Wall Soul” listening room. Photo by FLI Social.
GALLERIES
The following galleries will be open to the public during all hours of operation.
Curated by Albina Music Trust
Wall To Wall Soul | An exhibit featuring photography and music from Albina Music Trust's community archive. This exhibit centers Albina's musical culture dating back to the 1940s and up to the current day. With an emphasis on the soul, jazz, and gospel music legacy of Portland's Black community, the exhibit aims to inform and transport visitors to a time when Paul Knauls' Cotton Club - a pillar in Albina’s Black community - was “the only place on the West Coast with Wall To Wall Soul.”
In My Skin | Afro-Futurist Photography by Jason Hill. This exhibit celebrates the unique cultural identity, African ancestry, and diversity of Black Portland. Through dynamic portraiture and styling, In My Skin centers Portland's contemporary African Diaspora - highlighting artists and individuals residing here in Portland.
Curated by Alisa Wilbon
For the Record | Artist Page | For The Record features the unique perspectives, cultural expressions, and profound narratives of four photographers born and raised in Portland, Oregon, using photography as a medium to spotlight Black life in Portland. This captivating collection serves as a testament to the richness and vitality of each photographer's artistic expression, inviting you to immerse yourself in a celebration of creativity, heritage, and cultural identity. This exhibition sets the record straight. The featured artists are living proof—capturing the beauty, resilience, and everyday experiences of their community. They document moments of celebration, strength, and belonging, preserving a history that is too often untold. This is not a footnote in history. It is the foundation. We’ve always been here, and we always will be.
The BLACK Gallery, curated by Don’t Shoot PDX
Who We Are: The Fine Art of Isaka Shamsud-Din at 1803 | Curated by Don’t Shoot PDX | This exhibit features unique works by multi-disciplinary artist Isaka Shamsud-Din (b. 1940), showcasing decades of archival drafts, drawings and paintings. This collection serves as a retrospective of Shamsud-Din’s art from his early beginnings to the arrival of his signature style through the decades. As a boy, newly arrived from Texas, Shamsud-Din and his family lost all they had to the devastating Vanport flood of 1948. Isaka Shamsud-Din is known in the Pacific Northwest as a mural artist, art professor, and social commentary artist who critiques the complex history that makes up the African American experience. His large-scale paintings imbue vivid color and bold energy, bringing his characters to life. We hope this exhibit provides you with a valuable insight into Shamsud-Din’s process, techniques and important perspectives on American history, politics, and social culture. Learn more about Isaka’s work at isakashamsuddin.com
Curated by Oregon Black Pioneers
Racing to Change Exhibit | A look into how Portland's Black community organized for rights and recognition during the 1960s-1980s.
Black in Oregon | Stories of the first Black men and women who challenged exclusionary laws to settle in Oregon during the 1840s-1860s.
Beatrice Cannady: Portland's Advocate for Social Change |A profile of newspaper publisher and social activist Beatrice Morrow Cannady, the first Black woman to practice law in Oregon.
Louisa Flowers | An introduction to the life of Louisa Flowers, matriarch of one of early Portland's most prominent Black families.
MICRO CINEMA SCREENINGS
The following films will run through all hours of operation.
Albina Music Trust
Albina Music Trust: A Short Film By Jason Hill | Albina Music Trust is forging a non-commercial preservation model to document the legacy of Black musicians in Albina. Filmmaker Jason Hill creates a snapshot of the organization's work in the archive, the club, and community.
Albina Music Trust presents Shirley Nanette: Albina's "Never Coming Back" | Shirley Nanette reflects on her 1972 LP "Never Coming Back". This self-released album is one of few soul music recordings from the historic Albina community to be released in its time. Directed by Beth Harrington.
The Gangsters | In 1960s Portland, a group of teenage musicians came together to make music in a time of social change. Fifty years later, Albina Music Trust reunited the band to perform and release their "lost" recordings. Directed by Elijah Hasan.
Black Bald Films
The Albina Vision Series | The Albina Series is a groundbreaking documentary anthology that explores the rich, complex history and cultural significance of Portland's Albina District—a historically Black neighborhood at the heart of Oregon's African American community. The series shines a light on the neighborhood's vibrant past, challenges, and ongoing legacy of resilience and community through a combination of archival footage, personal narratives, and expert analysis.
North East Production
Dear Young Black Portland | This is the second installment of the Elder Anthologies series, a visual letter written by former NAACP President Sharon Gary-Smith to Portland's Black youth, offering insight and encouragement to the city's future generations.
Geneva, A Woman | This film is the first installment of the Elder Anthologies series; a visual love letter from Paul to his late wife Geneva, with whom he shared a life of romance and business that paved the way for Black Portlanders today; it is a legendary story of love that celebrates and bids farewell to one of the most significant spaces and figures in Portland history.
Where We Goin? Ep.1 | This pilot episode explores the life of Portland Trailblazers DJ O.G. One and his escape from gang-adjacent life in Watts, California, to his transition to Portland, OR, and rise to celebrity DJ. We’ll also meet the Creative Homies, owners of Downtown Portland BIPOC creator space The Horizon Enterprise Building.
Where We Goin?: The Power of Place | This episode finds Boss linking with multidisciplinary artist Intisar Abioto of Memphis, TN, to discuss her groundbreaking curation of 69 Pacific Northwest creatives at Oregon’s largest museum. The pair then connect with the folks powering the largest restorative re-development effort in the country, Albina Vision, as they rebuild the gentrifying epicenter of Portland’s vibrant Black community.
Oregon Black Pioneers
Meeting the Sewells | A collaboration between the High Desert Museum, Oregon Black Pioneers and North East Production, "Meeting the Sewells" offers the unique perspective of Columbus and Louisa Sewell, one of the first Black families to settle in Central Oregon.
Oregon’s Black Pioneers | 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.
Searching for York | The Lewis & Clark Expedition was a pivotal moment in American history. But the story of York, a man enslaved to William Clark and comrade on this journey, has been obscured by omission and stereotype. Learn about this unofficial member of the Corps of Discovery in this 2009 “Oregon Experience” documentary.
Calvin Walker and a group of Word is Bond Ambassadors reflect on the Museum opening. Photo by FLI Social.
PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS
Albina Music Trust
Alisa Wilbon
Black Bald Film
Center for Black Excellence
Creative Homies | The Horizon Enterprise Building
The BLACK Gallery, curated by Don’t Shoot PDX
Micro Enterprise Services of Oregon - MESO
North East Production
Oregon Black Pioneers
Word is Bond
Vancouver Avenue First Baptist Church
1803 Fund