Bright Lights: Conversations on Portland’s Future

An evening with Rukaiyah Adams, Zari Santner and Ron Herndon

Arguably some of Portland’s greatest urban flubs of the last half-century—and serial acts of racial injustice—played out in the neighborhood once known as “Lower Albina.” This once-thriving African-American community was systematically routed by Memorial Coliseum, Legacy Emanuel Medical Center, and the expansions of Interstate Ave and I-5. Then came the tangle of roads, parking garages, and arena dubbed the Rose Quarter.