State-Of-Black-Oregon-2015

CASE STUDY 9WALKING TALL, BLACK & PROUDIN ASHLANDRobert Goodwin is from Chicago(population: 2.72 million, 33 percentBlack). Now he lives and works inAshland (population: 20,300, 1 percentBlack). He says, “Southern Oregon is a foreignenvironment. You name it, it’s all different:population, speed, access, weather and diversityin people, activity and nightlife. There’s a ton ofstars in Ashland and cloudy skies in Chicago.”Robert got his master’s in finance and a degreein acting at Chicago’s De Paul University—“GoBlue Demons!” In Chicago, he worked inperforming arts, documentary film, TV andoriginal theater. This included producingeducational programs for young people.In Ashland, he now produces youth educationalprograms at the world-famous OregonShakespeare Festival. He’s also still an actor.Robert says, “I chose this opportunity becauseof the organization’s reputation and the stepit could be in my professional development.That focuses me. But it doesn’t mean it’s notchallenging. And as a big Black man, six feettall and 200 pounds plus, I get a lot of looks.People don’t see Black men here of my age andcarriage. I move with a gravitas that takes folksaback. I can go into a store anywhere in this areaand people will check me out and then look atmy license plate. ‘You can’t be from here. Wehaven’t seen anyone who looks like you.’”He speaks in deep, resonant tones that carrya natural command, authority and confidence.“There’s a toughness, a thickness of skin that youdevelop being a Black man. You can assess yoursurroundings and deal with foreign environments—and this definitely is a foreign environment.”Even within the confines of the festival campus,he finds that he needs his official badge.Without it, but with the same face, he sees asubtle wariness in others and not so subtlebehavioral changes. “Without the badge, amI legitimate or a threat? I have to mitigate theperception of threat. This takes a lot of energyout of my normal existence.”Ashford, Medford and Central Point havehad instances of hate crimes, includingcross- burnings. Over time, Robert hasdeveloped “agency,” an ability to deal withsocial challenges. But in the Rogue Valley andbeyond, he sees local youth and students ofcolor “under attack, under siege”—sometimesphysically, sometimes emotionally. He says,“They feel they can’t be who they are, so theytry to blend into the areas where they walk. Ifyou don’t see yourself, it’s hard to know howto be yourself. If you’re under assault, then youlearn really quickly how to choose battles andwhether you’re going to fight. If you don’t havea model, like a parent who knows how to dealwith things to help you develop; if you don’thave rites of passage or a cultural reference82