WHEREAS, Oregon entered the Union in 1859 with Black exclusion written into its constitution, barring Black people from living here, owning property, or making contracts — a foundation that shaped every system that followed; and
WHEREAS, the destruction of Albina, racially restrictive covenants, redlining, and sundown towns systematically stripped Black Oregonians of land, wealth, and community; and
WHEREAS, Black Oregonians face disproportionate incarceration, poverty, inadequate healthcare, discrimination in employment, barriers to home ownership and wealth, educational inequity, and police contact and in 2021, the Oregon Legislature declared racism a public health crisis; and
WHEREAS, these harms resulted from deliberate government policy choices that extracted wealth, land, and safety from Black communities, and therefore require deliberate repair;
NOW, THEREFORE, THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF OREGON RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. We support legislation, curriculum standards, and public education that formally acknowledge Oregon’s history of Black exclusion, as well as diverse school staffing, inclusive curriculum, direct investment in schools serving Black students, and urgent action to end the school-to-prison pipeline, recognizing that acknowledgment without action is performance.
Section 2. We support sustained investment in Community Based Organizations (CBOs) serving Black Oregonians and welcoming displaced Black Oregonians home, as well as direct investment in Black homeownership, small business development, land access, education, and generational wealth building designed to repair the racial wealth gap created by discriminatory policy.
Section 3. We support Black-led health organizations, Medicaid protections regardless of federal rollbacks, mandatory implicit bias training, race-disaggregated health data, and dedicated attention to Black maternal mortality; and
Section 4. We support reform of Measure 11, which enacted strict mandatory minimum sentencing, expanded expungement, reentry programs, and elimination of policies producing racially disparate outcomes; and
Section 5. We support independent civilian oversight of all forms of law enforcement with real disciplinary authority, mandatory body and dash cameras with community-accountable standards, and 24/7 unarmed mental health crisis response; and
Section 6. We support environmental protections prioritizing Black communities harmed by environmental racism, investment in tree canopy, clean air, and climate-resilient housing, and measurable public reporting on environmental disparities; and
Section 7. We call on Legislators to support an Oregon Reparations Study Commission, permanent funding for community-based reparative organizations, and federal H.R. 40 (the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act), centering Black leadership throughout, because reparations without those most harmed is not repair, it is erasure.
Resolution submitted by Andre Miller, Black Caucus; Nathan Soltz, State Party Chair; Michael Smith, PRC Chair, Multnomah County; Kien Truong, DNC Member; Lisa Cejka, Women’s Caucus; Greg Pettit, Columbia County; Paul Miller, Crook County; Erica Wills, Washington County; Mike Gardner, Clackamas County, Gerry Rempel, Lane County; Devon Maxwell, Wallowa County; Eric Timmerman, Jefferson County; Kathy Paspalis, Multnomah County; Malcom Scott, Multnomah County; Dana Madison, Deschutes County; Andrea Ottoman, Benton County, Garrett Holzwarth, Benton County; Gemma Fleenor, Washington County; Derrick Ragan, Washington County; Joe Esmonde, Labor Caucus; Mike Radway, Multnomah County
Adopted 8/23/26
