Last year, the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, The Office of Community & Civic Life and four community members—Cleo and Kayin Talton Davis, Carolyn M. Leonard, and Sharita Towne—got together to create a narrative that would expand on BPS’ 2019 report, the History of Racist Planning in Portland.
The result of this collaboration, “A Dream Rezoned”, tells the story of a Black family in Northeast Portland whose property was denied city permits, deemed a “blight” and bulldozed. Years later, Cleo Davis, the grandson of the property owner, advocated for the city to apologize and move a neighboring house—that was scheduled to be demolished—onto his family’s property. As a result of the Davis family’s presentation to Portland City Council, they received a formal apology and the city waived $40,000 in fees for relocating the Mayo House onto their property. The Mayo House is slated to be remodeled and turned into a space that will provide a space for art, healing, and convening; but the house also stands as a marker for the displacement and mistreatment of Black Portlanders in the Northeast neighborhood.
The decision to have the story presented as a "zine" was intentional. A zine is defined as a self-published work of original (or appropriated) texts and images that are popularly photocopied for circulation. In keeping with the tradition of zines, we created this resource to be free and easy to reproduce and distribute. So, get your copy today!