History Pub: Oregon’s Black History: 450 Years in 45 Minutes Presented by Mariah Rocker

All Ages | Doors 6:00PM
McMenamins Kennedy School Theater
5736 NE 33rd Ave, Portland, OR 97211
Monday February 24th, 2025 7:00PM

People of African descent have lived and worked in Oregon since before the founding of the earliest English-speaking settlements in the Americas. Despite this, the popular narrative of our state’s history excludes the experiences of African Americans before the mid-20th century. This erasure is the result of historic legal and social marginalization that contributes to the ignorance of Oregon’s Black heritage as well as influences contemporary disparities in housing access, community investment, and policing. For this presentation, Mariah Rocker of Oregon Black Pioneers will attempt to correct the record by highlighting key individuals and events that characterize Oregon’s unique and centuries-old Black history.  

Mariah Rocker is the public programs and exhibits manager at Oregon Black Pioneers. With a bachelor’s in public relations and sociology, Mariah’s passion for uncovering and sharing the stories of marginalized communities is evident in both her professional and personal pursuits. In her free time, Mariah channels the strength and resilience of historical icons through historical costuming and reenactment.  

Oregon Black Pioneers is the only historical society in Oregon dedicated to preserving and presenting the experiences of African Americans statewide. For more than 30 years, OBP has illuminated seldom-told stories of people of African descent in Oregon through engaging exhibits, public programs, publications, and historical research.