Every street has a racist past
that never ended
This mural explores the history of systemic racism in one city, one street, one block—ours.
8500 N Edison St, Portland, OR 97203
A story inside each 16-foot letter
This didn’t start with us. It hasn’t ended with us either. Each letter tells the events of a single year (more or less) in the history of this street, this neighborhood, this city, this state. It starts in 1802 and ends in 2018. See what happened here. What happened everywhere.
An overwhelming community response
Over $16,000 raised for local anti-racist nonprofits
Thousands of visits week after week from neighbors across Portland
Hundreds of thousands of views in The Oregonian, KGW, KATU and other outlets
The Side Show Awards / Silver / Social Good
Update: The end of the mural
In the beginning of 2021, PBOT repaved Edison street, cracking the mural into dust, replacing it with smooth asphalt ready for the next wave of condo construction. To be honest, this was always a temporary installation. Paint on an old broken-down road was never going to last. Now the work continues for all of us to make a more permanent impact on our community.
