This month’s learning links connect to both Black History Month and our 2024 focus on the relationship between equity, poverty and social mobility.

In the 1940s, Vanport was the second largest city in Oregon, built to create wartime housing during WWII. Vanport was home to thousands of Black migrants looking for work in the shipbuilding industry. In 1948 it was destroyed by a devastating flood. The history of Vanport is tied up in state and local laws and practices regarding segregation, housing, and race relations.

The NPR show Code Switch, did a short piece on Vanport in 2015. In addition, Oregon Public Broadcasting created an excellent one-hour documentary to share the full story of Vanport.