It has not been long since the United States witnessed blacks getting the right to vote, desegregation of public schools and, most recently, the election of the first black president, Barrack Obama.
Race relations have come a long way, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), founded in 1909, has been behind much of that progress. And the Portland State chapter of the NAACP is passionate about seeing that progress continue.
“The resilience is phenomenal. With everything that we’ve been through, we continue to grow. We continue to move,” said chapter President Erica Lee-Johnson, who was vice president of the group during the 2007–08 academic year.
Maintaining resilience within a community that Lee-Johnson said is still bearing the “scars of slavery” is one of the main reasons that she got involved with the NAACP.
“I’ve seen so many things happen to people when their dreams are stolen away,” Lee-Johnson said. “So I wanted to make sure while I’m on campus whatever event that we do, whatever outreach that we do, we have the capability to create change in our communities, and to let the world know that as students of color, as African-American students, that we’re multifaceted, that we have depth, that we dream, that we have goals.”
Tiya Omer said that finding community among other blacks is a vital part of the organization, and an aspect that drew her toward the NAACP.
“I realized that I was so disconnected from my community,” Omer said. “I feel like this is the only NAACP that’s reaching out to the Portland community, and not just PSU, and I wanted to be part of that.”
Omer, a sophomore, is secretary of the Portland State chapter. Much like Omer, Bianca Wallace joined the group seeking more community.
“Because there are only so few African-Americans on PSU’s campus that we need to come together and work together, and do student group activities together—just talk about issues that are coming about, and become more unified,” said Wallace, treasurer for the PSU chapter. “And I saw the need to be involved into a group that is directly associated with those things.”
Lee-Johnson’s goals for the group are not just to talk about the issues facing her community. She prefers action to simple conversation.
“One of the things that we made sure we did this year was to make sure that we put those ideas into action,” Lee-Johnson said.
The group’s latest event was the Freedom and Light peace vigil this February. The vigil was headed up by Patrice Mays, the community development coordinator of the Portland State chapter of the NAACP.
The Freedom and Light vigil was held not only to raise awareness of violence against blacks, but all violence, including the violence in places like the Middle East and Darfur.
The NAACP also strives to encourage blacks to further their education. With that goal in mind, this April Lee-Johnson is asking each group member to take a different day to visit high schools within Portland that have a large black enrollment and speak to them about them about the importance of education. She is also planning a Portland State campus tour for the high school students.
“We want them to see us out there, and see how hard we’ve worked to get where we are,” Lee-Johnson said.
Despite the progress that blacks have made through the years, the NAACP feels that their community still faces unique challenges and opportunities as they look ahead.
Omer, who moved to Portland from Ethiopia, sees black history as relatively young and something that is still being written.
“I feel like it’s just the beginning for African-Americans to go farther and start a positive history,” she said.
Lee-Johnson takes the notion a step further.
“There’s no longer that older female figure or that older male figure that we can go to and just sit on the porch with and get that advice and teach us about life,” Lee-Johnson said. “Our generation, we’re having to learn everything on our own.”
Wallace agrees with Lee-Johnson about the necessity of having more experienced, worldly individuals to confide in within the black community.
“We need more black mentors. We need to see the familiar face on the other side, that can tell us that, ‘I’ve been through the stuff you’ve been through, but look at where I’m at right now,'” Wallace said.
