The state of Oregon has fewer African Americans than any other state–only 2% of the population. I’ve often wondered why. Is it the climate? Is it the distance from the traditional south and family roots? Yesterday, I discovered the real reason. It was by design. From the beginning, Oregon was intended to settled by white people FOR white people.
In 1844, the provisional government of Oregon Country (as it was known prior to statehood) passed what became known as the “Peter Burnett Lash Law” which expelled all people of color from the region or face up to 39 “lashes”. The law was quickly repealed, but exclusion laws continued to be passed. (On a side note, Peter Burnett became the first elected governor of California in 1849.)
In 1850, under the Oregon Land Donation Act only white settlers were allowed to receive 650 acres of land from the government. Blacks and “Mulattos” were excluded. In 1851, Jacob Vanderpool, was expelled from the territory after a neighbor reported him for the crime of being black.
When Oregon Country sought statehood in 1859, its state constitution included this: “No free negro or mulatto, not residing in this State at the time of the adoption of this constitution, shall ever come, reside, or be within this State, or hold any real estate, or make any contract, or maintain any suit therein; and the Legislative Assembly shall provide by penal laws for the removal by public officers of all such free negroes and mulattoes, and for their effectual exclusion from the State, and for the punishment of persons who shall bring them into the State, or employ or harbor them therein.” It wasn’t removed from the constitution until 1922, ironically the same year that Oregon elected Water Pierce as Governor. Water Pierce was a member of the KKK.
Initially, Oregon ratified the 14th Amendment (recognizing the citizenship of anyone born in the US including former slaves) in 1866, but rescinded it 2 years later. (It was re-ratified in 1973!) The state refused to ratify the 15th Amendment of the US Constitution (giving black men the right to vote). Oregon finally ratified the 15th Amendment in 1959.
From the beginning, Oregon was intended to be a “whites only” state. Racism is at the core of the state’s DNA. It has always been (and still is) a state that is hostile toward people of color. So much for Oregon progressivism!
Oregon may have some of the most blatant examples, but you can find the same exclusionary policies and practices in just about every state as well as at the national level. The more I learn about the systemic racism of this nation, it has become more and more difficult for me to say the pledge of allegiance, sing the national anthem (or other patriotic hymn like “God bless America”) or celebrate national holidays. Our foundational values are antithetical to the values of my faith and my commitment to Christ–where status, ethnicity, gender are moot. Our policies reflect our sin. Confession is needed. Repentance is required. Otherwise, we will continue to repeat the sins of our fathers.
For more information on Exclusion laws, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_black_exclusion_laws
Tongue on Fire 
WOW!! I never knew this, probably because I never really thought about the issues involved in becoming a country or a state in this land. I have been ignorant of all the bills passed on the state level and national level, and how many archaic bills are still on the books to be dredged up at a time when they support my side in a court of law. I am struggling with some of the same issues as you, the national anthem, the various holidays, etc.
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