State-Of-Black-Oregon-2015

A BLACK-CENTEREDAPPROACHTO PLANNING• Black neighborhoods must be fullyengaged in building supportive institutionslike schools and community-basedorganizations. Their planning must focusa racial justice lens on systems that affectBlack people’s ability to thrive in place,including predatory lending and racistpolicing practices.• Displacement occurs in part due to lackof ownership—of homes and businesses.Black community development shouldencompass a range of possibilities, notonly individual, but also collective andcommunity ownership. Historically, Blackshave shared collective values of puttingdown roots, creating multi-generationalopportunities and building communitywideprosperity. For instance, Blackshelped to create the first community landtrusts in 1969.BLACK POLITICALEMPOWERMENT &ACCOUNTABLE PUBLIC POLICY• Too often, policymakers protest thatgentrification is out of their hands, whiletheir decisions foster private profits withoutinsisting on public benefits. Communitiesof color need collective political educationand mobilization to create actionstrategies that will hold public officialsaccountable for their decisions. Communitydevelopment demands a Black voice indecision-making.• Instead of offering developers no-stringsattachedtax incentives and subsidies,economic development agencies mustrequire them to address social impactsin return for public dollars. This includesminority contracting and hiring, and fundsto offset negative effects of new building.• A strong, organized community cannegotiate directly with developers anddemand legally enforceable CommunityBenefits Agreements aimed at specificoutcomes.“We’re survivors as people. And we’re trying toconnect as much as we can. But as far as citieslike Fairview or Gresham are concerned, they’renot giving the Black community a sense ofbeing wanted out there, and certainly not thatthey want to meet our needs.”-Older Adults Focus Group participant137