Throughout the month of February, at DCBS, we are honoring the history, contributions, excellence, and culture of African Americans in our agency and the United States. When thinking about the importance of Black History Month, it reminds me of the civil rights movement, the challenges African American had faced together since the first slaves were brought to America, and how now I benefiting from this.
In history
During the wagon train era, from 1840 to 1860, black participation in overland trail migration was kept small by both national and local public policy. What is was done in Oregon?
Exclusion Laws.
The precursor to Black History Month was created in 1926 when historian Carter G. Woodson and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History announced the second week of February to be "Negro History Week." Woodsen chose the second week of February to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln, the author of the Emancipation Proclamation, and of Frederick Douglass, an early African-American abolitionist.
Oregon today
Margaret Carter became the first African-American woman elected to the Oregon Legislative Assembly in 1984. She advocated for education for those most in need, and legislation to observe Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday as a state holiday.
Damian Lillard is an American professional basketball player for the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Weber State Wildcats and earned third-team All-American honors in 2012.
Chief Danielle Outlaw was sworn in as Chief of Police for the Portland Police Bureau on October 2, 2017. She began her career with the Oakland Police Department as an Oakland Police Explorer. As she rose through the ranks to Deputy Chief, she worked in various assignments throughout the Oakland Police Department, including Patrol, Community Services, the Office of Chief of Police, the Criminal Investigation Division, Internal Affairs and the Office of Inspector General.
Neil deGrasse Tyson is an American astrophysicist, author, and science communicator. Since 1996, he has been the Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium at the Rose Center for Earth and Space in New York City. He developed an interest in astronomy after a trip to the Hayden Planetarium when he was nine years old.
Fun facts
- There are more than 46.3 million African-Americans living in the U.S. Visit
Census Bureau data to read about projection, service, education and more.
- Inoculation was introduced by a slave, Onesimus.
Learn more.
- Interracial marriage in the United Sates was banned in 1664 and not overturned until 1967.
Read this monumental love story.
Events
DCBS Affirmative Action Plan
We define workforce diversity as a collection of individuals whose characteristics help us pursue organizational efficiency and effectiveness. These characteristics include, but are not limited to, national origin, language, race, color, disability, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, family structure, veteran status, socioeconomic status, and differences of thought and life experiences.