Proclaim May 30, 2024 to be Vanport Day of Remembrance
Whereas, to understand our present, we must understand the stories and lessons of our past; and
Whereas, in August 1942, housing was needed for the diverse population of workers arriving in Portland, Oregon, to work in the wartime Kaiser Shipyards in Portland and Vancouver, Washington; and
Whereas, Oregon’s history of black exclusion laws and its subsequent legacy of discrimination against people of Indigenous, African, Asian, Hawaiian, and Mexican descent shaped the decision to not provide housing in Portland; and
Whereas, Vanport, the country’s largest public housing project and Oregon’s second-largest city, with a peak population of 42,500, was constructed on the floodplain of the Nch’i-Wàna River, renamed the Columbia River, surrounded by a series of levees with its lowest point being 15 feet below river water level; and
Whereas, although racial segregation was the law of the land, Vanport residents created community and relationships in schools, daycares, stores, and social settings that were integrated; and
Whereas, after the war, Vanport was home for Japanese and Japanese Americans whose land and homes were stolen when they were unjustly incarcerated during WWII and to veterans who attended Vanport College, which later became Portland State University; and
Whereas, in the spring of 1948, despite heavy spring rains and melting snow resulting in alarming river rise, the Housing Authority of Portland, with assurances from the Army Corps of Engineers, told residents they were safe and would have plenty of time to evacuate if there were flooding and that they should not, “get excited;” and
Whereas, on Sunday, May 30, at 4:17 p.m., after a 600-foot section of the railroad berm to the west of the city failed, water began pouring into Vanport and in a matter of hours, the resulting flood destroyed the city; and
Whereas, the multiracial population of over 18,000 African, Indigenous, Japanese and white Americans was washed into Portland, and the lives of at least 15 human beings and an unknown number of beings in other lifeforms ceased to manifest; and
Whereas, Vanport’s story roots us in our interbeing with land and water and provides a template for creating a society that honors the story and culture of all beings, paving the way for our humanity and our city to thrive; and
Whereas, Vanport Mosaic will hold the 9th Vanport Mosaic Festival from May 18 to June 1 to honor and celebrate Vanport as an essential and often forgotten chapter in Portland’s history.
Now, therefore, I, Ted Wheeler, Mayor of the City of Portland, Oregon, the “City of Roses,” do hereby proclaim May 30, 2024, to be
Vanport Day of Remembrance
In Portland and encourage all residents to observe this day. Let us remember the people and beings for whom this place was home and learn from their experiences as we endeavor to be a resilient and inclusive city for all.