When I’m making a design, whether it’s the Ignorant/ beanie or I Survived Portland Police or Gentrification is Weird, it’s just me creating things that I’m happy with and posing questions and statements that I have I think is the most powerful thing. We just needed a spotlight on that culture here because like I said, black people are only 6% [of the population] here in Portland, so white people can just live their lives a lot of the time and not even know or acknowledge what’s going on. I’m trying to tell my story of kind being in between these worlds, wanting to bridge the gap using the clothes I make as conversation pieces, doing community events to have more platforms where people can tell their stories.
I live in a liberal paradise in Portland that has nothing to do with what everybody else views Portland as. With my clothing line, it’s about creating conversations with people. Despite what I was told, black Portlanders have existed in the city since its birth in the mid-19th century. You have so many great incredible artists here, and even with the spotlight that’s come to Portland, it hasn’t quite been shone on black art. We’re living in a particular renaissance here in Portland and people are going to want to flock to what’s happening out here. It’s not one thing. Over the course of the gentrification that started around when I was 16 up ‘til now, they started to push us out of our neighborhoods to rebuild structures for more out-of-towners and more Caucasian people to move into. But it’s still very much a paradise for me because I’m living in my own world. Of course it has a reputation [as a white liberal paradise] and there are ways that it’s true and there are ways that it’s not true. Black-owned Portland trattoria Amalfi’s has offered the same old-school recipes and community support for three generations. We are a full service tattoo shop specializing in Traditional Americana, Japanese, Black and Grey, and Lettering. And Portland is definitely a representation of America.
And it’s funny because a lot of the shit that Portland has built upon started from African-American-owned businesses and things that we set as seeds in the soil to grow. In 1851, Budtender Tiara Darnell Is Shaking up Portland’s Cannabis Industry The national cannabis scene is predominantly white and male; Portland’s Tiara Darnell, named Oregon’s best budtender for 2017, is working to … But at the same time, there’s a lot of microaggressions and passive aggressiveness and racism that you gotta deal with. But I feel like hip-hop is gaining for sure. Black Lives Matter- Portland Branch NAACP Portland, Maine Branch Portland Racial Justice Congress Cleaning Services Breathe Easy Co Casco Bay Cleaning Clothing Companies Antoine’s Formal Wear and Tailor Shop
Christine Miller (b. It was only when I graduated and finally got to know the city properly that I started to see the other black people in the overwhelmingly white crowds surrounding me, and began to learn about those who came before us. And so I’m not so much about changing a misconception as more revealing honest truths through art and through engagement. But even with this background, Portland has earned its reputation as America’s whitest city, with I feel like Portland is more of an acoustic, indie rock type city so I think they tend to pay more attention to that just naturally. I think those are our own moments of paradise. Are you really from here?” Shit like that. Despite what I was told, black Portlanders have existed in the city since its birth in the mid-19th century. People may assume that there are no communities of color in Portland, but they’re definitely thriving here. I just want to show what’s actually there in terms of the presence of people of African descent in Portland. But understand that there is an epicenter of creatives of color in Portland that are changing how people in the town view us. There’s a lot of things you don’t have to deal with [here that you would if you] lived in a bigger city. I think one of the biggest misconceptions in terms of talking about black art and black people is that we’re all the same. There are black people, there are black artists there, there are artists of color there, there are creative people there who have built the city, who have been building the city, who have been there since the start.
And, even with the changes with gentrification or the decades of displacement of people of color, I just really believe in our power. I think it’s all needed. Exhibited at Black Portland, Black Reed at Reed College, Feb 2016. He actually went to college? There’s something about how white supremacy alters perception so that you aren’t actually seeing or something. As far as my music, I try to create these narratives for the people outside of my own race to look at it and understand and be able to look at these situations from a different angle instead of just look at it in an ignorant way and just say, “Oh they gangbang because of