Portland State Magazine Fall 2010

Color matters PSU research finds deep levels of racial disparity in Multnomah County. Alumni of color tell what it is like to live and work here. WRITTEN BY PAIGE PARKER ANN CUR RY-STEVENS , an assistant professor of social work, expected sobering findings as she began researching social and economic conditions of Multnomah County's communities of color. But what she found was worse than she anticipated: overwhelming, pervasive disparities between people of color and white residents. The data shocked her. In measure after measure, Mult– nomah County's people of color lag behind white residents. On average, they earn half as much, and they're twice as likely to live in poverty. Nearly one-third of rhe county's people of color have not graduated from high school, compared to 7 percent of white residents. The disparities-many of which have their origins in Oregon's early history-are getting worse, and they're more pronounced in Multnomah County than in Washington's King County, which has similar demographics. Curry-Stevens called rhe county "toxic" for people of color when she released "Communities of Color in Multnomah County: An Unsettling Profile" this spring. "This research causes me personally to say, 'How did I come Judy BlueHorse Skelton knows firsthand how hard it is for Native Americans to succeed in school. 8 PORTLAND STATE MAGAZIN E FALL 20 10 to believe Portland was progressive?'" Curry-Stevens says. "Our progressive identity gets in rhe way of naming racism." The Coalition of Communities of Color, whose membership includes more rhan 40 culturally specific organiza– tions in Mulcnomal1 County, requested the research. This partnership between PSU and rhe coalition, says Curry– Stevens, is leading to research rhat is more robust, insightful, and powerful rhan if either entity was doing it alone. Lee Po Cha, the coalition's co-chair, looked to PSU for demographic data on people of color, which he says is more sophisticated than the 2000 U.S. Census numbers. He calls the undercount of people of color in the census "unbelievable" and expects even less accuracy from rhe 2010 census because of changes in the survey format. The report estimates rhat people of color make up roughly 26 percent ofMultnomah County's population. That includes, from most populous to least, Latinos, Asian/Pacific Islanders, African Americans, Native Americans, and African immi– grants and refugees. The Coalition of Communities of Color also made the unusual distinction of including rhe Slavic community because of rhe issues and disparities they face in Multnomah County. PSU is working with the coalition on six more community– specific reports. Armed wirh better data, coalition leaders plan to press local governments for policy changes that, they hope, will reduce disparities and promote culturally specific services. We spoke to four alumni and one master's candidate about rhe challenges they've faced as people of color living and working in Multnomah County. Having a college education means rhey've already beaten many of rhe odds highlighted by the report. And today, most of rhem are working from within Oregon institutions to eliminate racial disparities. The slow pace of progress When Margaret Carter '72 won her house seat in 1984, it was the first time an African American woman had been elected to the Oregon Legislature. A quarter century later, when she left rhe state senate, Carter was one of just three people of color in rhe 90-member legislature. That's not progress, says Carter.