The story of Albina is the story of urban America.

Historically, Albina was home to 80% of Portland’s Black population.

Lower Albina used to be a creative, affordable and safe neighborhood that birthed citywide tree-planting programs to gesture tenderness to our Japanese neighbors after their internment during World War II, created world-class public education models established for and by Black Portlanders, and was nationally recognized as a hotspot for jazz and soul music on the West Coast.

A legacy of Injustice

During the 1950s and 1960s, racist urban renewal policies displaced families and forced them to leave their stable and abundant community. Albina was classified “blighted” and redlined, with properties condemned for cents on the dollar.

Government officials carved up the neighborhood, demolishing thousands of homes to build Interstate 5, Veterans Memorial Coliseum and the sprawling, 10.5-acre Portland Public Schools (PPS) headquarters facility.

Situating our work in context

Properly contextualizing the Albina Vision means understanding that government, traditional development, and urban renewal have played a central role in the destruction of community and abundance here in Lower Albina. It also means understanding that the way forward must be firmly rooted in the principles of racial, economic and environmental justice.