The Portland Black Panthers: Empowering Albina and Remaking a City. By Lucas N. N. Burke and Judson L. Jeffries

Abstract

The Portland Black Panthers: Empowering Albina and Remaking a City . By Lucas N. N. Burke and Judson L. Jeffries. (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2016. vi + 283 pp. Illustrations, maps, bibliography, index. $22.50.) Until 1951, interracial marriage was illegal in the city of Portland, Oregon. Fair employment protections did not pass the state legislature until 1949, while public accommodations and fair housing were not legally guaranteed until 1953 and 1957 respectively. As one World War Two veteran who relocated there in 1960 recalled, “Living in Portland at that time was almost like living in Alabama…black folk had it rough in Portland (37).” It was in this oppressive atmosphere that the Portland Black Panther Party, the subject of this superb book, emerged to fight the poverty, inadequate health care, hostile policing, and undemocratic political system that plagued the city’s African American community. Long lost behind misrepresentations and stereotypes, the Panthers have fortunately been the focus of significant scholarly attention in recent years, allowing a fuller understanding of their complexity and … nbristow{at}ups.edu