Willa Ida Jackson-Williams and Rev. O.B. Williams (seated) of the Vancouver Avenue First Baptist Church in Portland met with local and associate ministers in 1966.
The Vancouver Baptist Church congregation celebrated the 30th anniversary of O.B. Williams as pastor in 1975. Williams formed the congregation in 1945 in Burton Homes, Washington, and facilitated its permanent move to Albina in Portland. He served as an important community and civil rights leader throughout his tenure as pastor.
Martin Luther King visited Portland in 1961 and met with leaders of the Vancouver Avenue First Baptist Church. Rev. O.B. Williams stands on the far left.
The Vancouver Avenue Baptist Church began as the First Baptist Church of Burton Homes, a federal wartime housing project managed by the Vancouver Housing Authority (Washington state). Most of the people in this 1945 photo of an early service were employees of the Kaiser Shipyards. The church moved to the Bagley Downs housing project later that year, then to Vanport City in 1946, and finally to the Albina neighborhood in Portland after Vanport was flooded in 1948. The current building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its significance to the history of civil rights in Oregon.
The Vancouver Avenue First Baptist Church Gospel Choir held a benefit concert in 1950 at the Neighbors of Woodcraft Building (Tiffany Building), located on SW Morrison and 14th St.
Six unidentified women posing with their awards certificates during an Oregon Association of Colored Women’s Clubs annual Woman of the Year awards event, circa 1985.
Portlanders Elnora Deiz and her mother Mollie Foster stand next to a war bonds poster featuring Deiz’s son, 1st Lt. Robert Deiz, known as the “Black Eagle.”
First Lt. Charles Richard Stanton was the first black bomber pilot in the U.S. Armed Forces—he flew 81 combat missions in Europe during WWII. He was born in Maryland in 1920, but had moved with this family to Portland by the 1930s. He enlisted in 1942 into the Air Corps for the duration of the war, plus six months. He died in 1991, and is buried at the Willamette National Cemetery in Portland.
An unidentified female employee of a shipyard in Portland during WWII takes a lunch break. Women were recruited into wartime industry jobs when men were sent overseas. Portland’s shipyards attracted thousands of women and African American workers looking for skilled, high-wage jobs.
The Vancouver Avenue First Baptist Church stands on the southeast corner of N. Vancouver Ave. and Fargo Street. It was originally built in 1909 for the Central Methodist Episcopal Church. Vancouver Avenue (established in 1944) purchased the building in 1951 and inhabits it still. The church was renovated and enlarged in 1957-1958.
Half-length portrait of Booker T. Washington, seated and facing to the right. He is wearing a suit and bow tie. Written on the negative sleeve is the name “Washington, Booker T.”
Half-length portrait of Booker T. Washington, seated and looking slightly left. He is wearing a suit and bow tie. Written on the negative sleeve is the name “Washington, Booker T.”
Portrait of a smiling man sitting next to a vehicle. The photograph may have been taken at the annual Pacific International Livestock Exposition in Portland. The man is unidentified.
Portrait of an unidentified drummer in a suit and tie, seated behind his drums. He is smiling and holding one drumstick in the air. Text that appears to be “A 2655” is written on the negative and is visible on the upper right side of the image.
Portrait of smiling children posing next to a table during a birthday party for Teddy McDaniel (center) at the Cotton Club in Portland on May 23, 1934. A birthday cake is on the table in front of McDaniel. According to a story about the party on Page 12 of the Oregon Journal on May 25, 1934, McDaniel was a performer in stage shows led by entertainer Ted Lewis, and the party celebrated McDaniel’s eighth birthday. See related image No. 371N1518.