{"id":14112,"date":"2023-03-12T00:51:22","date_gmt":"2023-03-12T05:51:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.law.duq.edu\/juris\/?p=14112"},"modified":"2023-03-12T00:51:23","modified_gmt":"2023-03-12T05:51:23","slug":"black-families-sue-portland-oregon-over-racially-motivated-displacement-practices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.law.duq.edu\/juris\/2023\/03\/12\/black-families-sue-portland-oregon-over-racially-motivated-displacement-practices\/","title":{"rendered":"Black Families Sue Portland, Oregon Over Racially Motivated Displacement Practices<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Liza Honaker, Staff Writer<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Photo Curtesy of Unsplash.com<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A hospital and the city of Portland, Oregon are being sued for forcibly displacing over 80 predominantly Black families from the central Albina area in the 1970s.[1]<\/a> The lawsuit was filed with the Portland Division of the District of Oregon on December 8, 2022, by 27 former Albina residents and descendants of former residents.[2]<\/a> The complaint alleges that Legacy Emanuel Hospital (LEH) used intimidation tactics to coerce Black residents into selling their homes without just compensation.[3]<\/a> LEH told Albina residents that it needed their homes for its expansion, threatening that the city would take their homes forcefully if the families did not relocate willingly.[4]<\/a> Once LEH purchased these homes, it left them to sit empty and neglected in what was formerly a bustling Black community with generational roots and economic potential.[5]<\/a> The city of Portland took the remaining residents\u2019 homes under its eminent domain authority.[6]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lawsuit presents a compelling theory that the city of Portland and LEH engaged in conspiracy to forcibly displace Albina residents, violating their civil rights under 42 USC \u00a7 1985.[7]<\/a> To support this theory, the families allege a two-phase execution.[8]<\/a> During phase one, LEH entered into a secret agreement with Portland before the hospital began purchasing Albina homes stipulating that LEH would be compensated for its purchases as well as demolition costs.[9]<\/a> The complaint states that LEH was eventually compensated for its expenditures in the form of tax credits.[10]<\/a> After LEH had purchased these homes for little to no compensation, it either demolished them, leaving behind empty lots, or it allowed the homes to sit neglected.[11]<\/a> In phase two, the city made a finding that the area was blighted, which enabled it to use its eminent domain powers to displace any leftover families and take control of remaining residences.[12]<\/a>  Many of these homes would be worth more than $500,000 in today\u2019s housing market.[13]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of the plaintiffs\u2019 evidentiary support hinges on timing. Through threatening forthcoming city intervention, LEH began its efforts to purchase Albina homes before Portland approved the hospital\u2019s expansion.[14]<\/a> After LEH\u2019s purchases, the city released a report that it found the area to be blighted.[15]<\/a> Only then did the city announce its intention to support the hospital\u2019s expansion and cure the blight by commencing eminent domain proceedings.[16]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Former Albina residents and their descendants are seeking financial compensation for the ongoing harm caused by LEH and Portland, categorizing it as a public nuisance.[17]<\/a> Practices like redlining and restrictive covenants led Black families to settle in the Albina area, as they were unable to gain housing in other Portland neighborhoods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor plaintiffs, the loss of their family homes has meant the deprivation of inheritance, intergenerational wealth, community, and opportunity,\u201d states the filed complaint.[18]<\/a> The families who rooted themselves in Albina invested in their community and cultivated it into an economically valuable area.[19]<\/a> However, instead of reaping the benefits from this investment, their homes and land were taken from them, often left unused or converted into parking lots.[20]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

[1]<\/a> https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/news\/us-news\/oregon-lawsuit-spotlights-destruction-black-neighborhoods-rcna61156<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[2]<\/a> https:\/\/92jaf1.p3cdn1.secureserver.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/EDPA2-Complaint-Filed.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[3]<\/a> Id<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[4]<\/a> Id<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[5]<\/a> https:\/\/www.portlandmercury.com\/images\/blogimages\/2022\/01\/31\/1643672691-reclamation_toward_the_futurity_for_central_albina__dreamworld_urbanism_1026.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[6]<\/a> https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2023\/01\/21\/1150548992\/a-group-of-black-residents-in-portland-is-suing-the-city-for-displacement-from-t<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[7]<\/a> https:\/\/92jaf1.p3cdn1.secureserver.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/EDPA2-Complaint-Filed.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[8]<\/a> Id<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[9]<\/a> Id<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[10]<\/a> Id<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[11]<\/a> Id<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[12]<\/a> Id<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[13]<\/a> https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2023\/01\/21\/1150548992\/a-group-of-black-residents-in-portland-is-suing-the-city-for-displacement-from-t<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[14]<\/a> https:\/\/92jaf1.p3cdn1.secureserver.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/EDPA2-Complaint-Filed.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[15]<\/a> Id.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[16]<\/a> Id<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[17]<\/a> Id<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[18]<\/a> Id<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[19]<\/a> https:\/\/92jaf1.p3cdn1.secureserver.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/EDPA2-Complaint-Filed.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[20]<\/a> Id<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Liza Honaker, Staff Writer A hospital and the city of Portland, Oregon are being sued for forcibly displacing over 80 predominantly Black families from the central Albina area in the 1970s.[1] The lawsuit was filed with the Portland Division of the District of Oregon on December 8, 2022, by [\u2026] <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

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