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Black Portland
Black community defines the Rose City — Taste the globe with local Black chefs, shop from Black-owned businesses, and immerse yourself in the legacy of Portland’s Black artists and musicians.
Black Portlanders remain instrumental in shaping our city and state’s values, cultural identity, and history — and have been, long before Oregon’s 1859 founding. Black pioneers were among the earliest non-Native people to migrate to the Pacific Northwest, with a legacy dating back more than 450 years. During World War II, Black migration to Portland hit its peak in North and Northeast Portland, where the Albina area became the historic heart of the city’s Black community. The Oregon Black Pioneers historical society emphasizes the importance of celebrating the Black narratives now and prior to the mid-20th century, in addition to recounting the state’s exclusionary founding and subsequent years. Today, Portland is home to a growing population of more than 51,000 Black Americans, mostly living on the east side of the Willamette River. Numerous institutions and individuals alike remain dedicated to preserving, uplifting, and celebrating the rich histories of Black people in Oregon’s past, present, and future.
Black-Owned Portland
From home goods to hair salons, Portland’s Black-owned businesses are abundant with any service or product you may need, be it violet hyacinths, imported spices, or sustainable housewares.
Northwest and Southwest Portland
Natural Hair And Extensions
For the past decade, owner, braider, and loctician Tisha Stigler has filled a gap in Black-owned beauty supply stores at Natural Hair and Extensions. In addition to providing protective styles, this beloved beauty salon offers services including facials, hair cutting and styling, makeup, and products catering to all hair textures.
Grand Gesture Books
Queer and Black woman-owned, Grand Gesture Books specializes in romance novels and has already made a name for itself by being well-versed in the language of love—platonic, diverse, and inclusive. Cozy up with a new favorite read and stick around for free community events like author signings, readings, or a rom-com screening.
North and Northeast Portland
Green Muse
Billed as the world’s first hip-hop dispensary, Green Muse carries high-quality flowers, edibles, and topicals. Beyond a top-notch inventory, their branding celebrates hip hop culture and cannabis, drawing parallels between policing and stigmatization, especially for the Black community. As Black business owners represent a mere 2% of cannabis businesses across the nation, Green Muse not only defies the odds but cultivates the next generation of cannabis stewards with apprenticeships and community events.
Mama Pauline’s African Market
Stock your suitcases with your next favorite snack, spices, or imported tinned fish at Mama Pauline’s African Market, an African-owned shop specializing in global products from Ethiopia to the Caribbean. Be sure to peek into the back room to pick up a pair of bangles or a vibrant dashiki.
Credit: Emily Prado
Dean’s Beauty Salon and Barber Shop
Family-owned and open for business since 1956, Dean’s Beauty Salon and Barber Shop remains the oldest continually operating Black-owned business in the state of Oregon and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2022. Stop by for excellent hair care and styling, served with a side of impressive Black Portland history.
Southeast Portland
Birds & Bees Nursery
Black woman-owned Birds & Bees Nursery offers an impressive array of affordable and healthy perennials, Pacific Northwest native plants, and houseplants alongside locally-made earrings, macrame hangers, and more. They’re beloved in the community for giving back to important causes and hosting awesome gatherings and workshops.
Way of Being
Colorful and welcoming, Way of Being specializes in low-waste products that make supporting the planet easier than ever. Whether you’re looking for lotion bars made with fair-trade shea butter or plastic-free floss, they’ve got you covered. Can’t visit IRL? Their online shop lets you sort products by values like BIPOC-owned businesses or cruelty-free companies.
Third Eye Books Accessories & Gifts
Third Eye Books was Portland’s only Black-owned bookstore until not too long ago. Today, the space remains a beloved literary hub that centers Black authors and stories and offers an expansive array of Afrocentric wellness products, such as tarot decks and Florida water.
Black Owned Businesses
From clean kicks to fresh cuts, these five businesses are worth a visit.
Black Arts and Culture in Portland
The artistic expressions of Portland’s Black community know no bounds. From the page to the stage, Black artists light up our city with powerful performances and thoughtfully curated gatherings across mediums for all ages.
Essential Arts and Culture Stops
Ori Gallery
Co-founded by community organizer and artist duo Maya Vivas and Roux Haile, North Portland’s Ori Gallery amplifies trans and queer artists of color through rotating exhibits, workshops, and community conversations. It also doubles as a “radical land project” by claiming cultural space on Mississippi Avenue—an area deeply shaped by an ongoing history of gentrification.
Portland Art Museum
A new gallery dedicated to Black art opens at the Portland Art Museum by late 2025 in partnership with the 1803 Fund! Remarkable recent tributes to Black culture and arts at this longstanding Portland institution have included Hank Willis Thomas’ “All Things Being Equal…” and the expansive “Black Artists of Oregon” exhibit curated by Intisar Abioto (Black Portlanders).
Passinart Theatre
As Oregon’s longest-producing Black theater, Passinart Theatre has been a vital community institution for nearly half a century. It fuses inspiration, entertainment, and education to highlight critical issues faced by Black Americans to audiences of all ages. Programs include shows, festivals, workshops, and more!
The Black Gallery
Don’t Shoot Portland is an advocacy group rooted in community, and The Black Gallery is one of many initiatives. Launched by organizers in 2023, this art space uses exhibitions, events, and education to inspire connection and social change while challenging stifling gallery expectations and celebrating Black artists. Entry is free but only available by appointment – make sure to book in advance!
Black History Month, Juneteenth and More Events
Portland’s Black community produces stellar, must-attend events throughout the year that celebrate Black culture, American history, creativity, and entrepreneurship. Whether you’re attending a comedy festival, commemorating Juneteenth, or taking to the stands at the rodeo, Black events across Portland offer powerful platforms for storytelling, joy, and connection.
Ongoing
The Thesis
This premier Portland hip hop event has brought over 200 artists from emerging acts to NBA All-Stars to the stage since 2015. Watch every first Thursday at Lollipop Shoppe!
February
Black History Festival NW
Get inspired alongside more than 100 Black leaders and organizations during these performances, art and participatory events produced by World Stage Theatre.
March
Biamp Portland Jazz Festival
Enjoy your favorite jazz heroes and upcoming artists while bopping around the numerous Portland venues that host this 10-day celebration of all flavors of jazz.
May
Vanport Mosaic Festival
Historians, artists, students, and descendants collaborate to resist erasure and uplift these vital stories of Vanport, Oregon’s former second-largest city, washed away by a tragic flood in 1948.
June
Juneteenth Oregon Parade and Festival
Join the Juneteenth Oregon freedom celebration with “The Clara People’s Freedom Trail Parade” and a joyous festival with live music, guest speakers, vendors and children’s activities.
8 Seconds Rodeo
Nosh on decadent barbecure and sip cold pints while cheering on the Black cowboys and cowgirls of the 8 Seconds Rodeo, which celebrates the legacy and traditions of Black rodeo.
Good in the Hood
Billed as the Pacific Northwest’s largest multicultural festival, this free two-day celebration features a Northeast Portland parade, music, delicious food from local restaurants and local makers.
July
Cathedral Park Jazz Festival
The longest-running free jazz festival west of the Mississippi showcases global talent against the enchanting backdrop of the St. John’s Bridge and Willamette River.
August
Portland Hip Hop Week
This annual celebration founded in 2015 to “unify, amplify, educate, and elevate the hip hop culture,” features live performances, dancers, an awards show and roller skating.
Sneaker Week
This weeklong festival celebrates all things sneaker culture, with workshops, panels, demos, and performances in the heart of this footwear hub.
Credit: Ashley Anderson
Black Community Events
From performing arts to cultural exhibitions, there's always something to enjoy.
Explore Portland’s Black History
Learn about Black History at the Oregon Historical Society
Step into Oregon’s fascinating past at this museum that doubles as a research library located in Downtown’s South Park Blocks, near Portland State University. While all permanent exhibits are comprehensive and inclusively curated, the History Hub exhibit is a particular stand-out thanks to partnerships with numerous esteemed institutions, including the Oregon Black Pioneers. Check out their site for upcoming exhibits and pop-up museum events.
Stroll or Roll through the Soul of Portland
The Albina Soul Walk is a one-mile, self-guided audio tour commemorating Albina’s bustling musical past, narrated by lifelong local musicians Calvin Walker and Norman Sylvester. Listen to oral histories and spirited songs while trekking along historic landmarks. While the tour (produced by the Albina Music Trust and artist Megan Hattie Stahl) focuses on the 1960s through 1980s and places that ensured Black elders and teenagers alike had space for sonic expression, it also looks towards the future and preserving this important history for decades to come.
Credit: Jaosn Hill for better.
The five Alberta Street Black Heritage Markers honor the individuals alongside the places and stories that have shaped them. Beginning at the corner of Alberta Street and 11th Avenue and continuing through 24th Avenue, visitors can learn about the lives of nine community leaders who represent the heart of this neighborhood, whether through entrepreneurship, coaching, or authoring authentic narratives of everyday people of this community.
Built in 1924, the Historic Alberta Arts House is a community hub and event space located in a gorgeously restored building that once served as a Masonic lodge and local church. They host a robust calendar of public programming, including rotating galleries, youth workshops, multidisciplinary performances, lectures, and more.
The Alberta Commons shopping center stretches along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, between the NE Sumner and Alberta blocks, and is an initiative created to provide economic growth opportunities for Black Portlanders and other people of color. Today, it’s home to several esteemed Black-owned businesses, including Champions Barbershop and Cason’s Fine Meats.
Take in the Sights
Stop by the Oregon Convention Center to visit The Dream memorial sculpture, which celebrates the life of Martin Luther King Jr. Dedicated on the 35th anniversary of the “I Have a Dream” speech, the eight-foot-tall bronze statue was completed by artist Michael Florin Dente and depicts King Jr. alongside three diverse, intergenerational allegorical figures. Next, head to the Montavilla neighborhood for a visit to the newly renovated Verdell Burdine Rutherford Park, which offers nearly 8 acres (32,000 sqm) of trails, picnic tables, public art, and a vibrant, accessible playground. Named after Rutherford, an activist at the forefront of the civil rights movement in Oregon and president of the NAACP, it is the city’s first park named after a Black community leader.
Nature and Wellness
Black-Owned Wellness Spaces For…
- Holistic Health: Black Pearl Wellness is a welcoming queer-couple owned space centering healing through acupuncture, cupping, and natural medicine.
- Relaxation: Services at Stillness Moved offer relief and respite through a distinct combination of Western, Eastern, and Haitian modalities.
- Resetting: Take a deep breath and let your nervous system rest with gentle movement at the ultra-inclusive Yin Yoga Space.
- Treating Yourself: Book an all-natural sugaring session at Brown Sugar, specializing in brows and Brazilians, or get a gorgeous, fresh lash extension set at Glam Lab PDX.
- Soaking: Although not Black-owned, you can soak anytime or during BIPOC-only affinity hours at Common Ground Wellness Cooperative.
Go Outdoors
Portland-based entrepreneur Lestarya Molloy discovered healing and clarity when she began venturing into nature. She felt called to share that transformative experience — especially with people of color — by making the outdoors more accessible.
When Black people find joy, confidence and freedom in nature, it carries into every other aspect of our lives.
Lestarya Molloy, Fridie Outdoors Founder
“Unless you grew up camping and hiking, or have a friend to show you the ropes, it’s intimidating to get out there,” Lesterya Molloy says. “We designed Fridie Outdoors to give people the skills and inspiration to feel joy, confidence, and freedom outdoors.”
Fridie Outdoors (named in honor of her Black family) is an offline-accessible app that helps equip beginners and seasoned adventurers alike with camping and outdoors skills, whether you’re a beginner or seasoned adventurer. Download Fridie Outdoors from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
Lestarya’s Hiking Trail Picks:
Credit: Travel Oregon
Prefer to join a community of fellow Black adventurers? Check out these local groups:
- People of Color Outdoors (POCO) is a family-friendly non-profit that hosts hundreds of events so people of color of all ages can enjoy Mother Nature together. Take a hike, forest bathe, canoe, or join a potluck in the park — you name it, they’ve done it. Even sweeter, their “POCO Guardians” program offers free meals and adventures for BIPOC children over summer and winter breaks.
- Always Be Birdin’ began as a sacred space for BIPOC community birding events. In addition to affinity events, it has grown to offer overnights, group outings open to all, and a standout podcast by the same name. Pro tip: Binoculars are often provided, so check event details.
- Soul River Inc. is a Black veteran-founded non-profit that pairs veteran mentors and youth for outdoor adventures and workshops that inspire, teach vital skills, teach Indigenous land knowledge, and steward environmental care.
- Camp Yoshi offers elevated outdoor outings curated by three Black creatives with a knack for designing inclusive, unique itineraries. From day trips for whitewater river rafting or learning how to surf the Oregon Coast to weeklong international excursions for glamping or dining on chef-prepared meals under the stars, it’s all possible with Camp Yoshi!
- Outdoor Afro is a not-for-profit, Oakland-based organization that began as a blog detailing the experiences of founder Rue Mapp as a Black woman navigating outdoor spaces. Now, it’s a nationwide platform with local chapters for Black people to connect with nature and each other while hiking, swimming, kayaking, biking, bird watching, and more.
Get Sporty
- Cycling — Join a group ride with Friends on Bikes PDX, a special community for BIPOC women and trans and/or non-binary cyclists, or BikePOCPNW, open to all BIPOC bikers, whether you’re looking for a gravel, road, or party-paced ride, or a bikepacking trip.
- Golfing — Tee up alongside Leisure Hour Golf Club, a Black community group for golfers and social members in the Pacific Northwest with an 80-year history.
- Rock Climbing — Try your hand (and wrists and toes) at rock climbing alongside the grassroots group, PDX Climbers of Color, which organizes events for BIPOC climbers of all levels with discounted gear rental rates to boot. Focused on indoor climbing nights at a rotation of Portland climbing gyms, the group has also been known to scale the outdoors together at state and national parks.
- Running — Take to the streets every Tuesday at 7 p.m. with the stylish and inclusive Deadstock Run Club, co-founded by Deadstock Coffee owner Ian Williams and creative consultant Amir Armstrong. Check their Instagram for rad pop-up events featuring free coffee, sneaker demos, raffles, and more.
Know Before You Go
Portland doesn’t have Black-owned rental shops yet, but you can rent great gear from local businesses! Borrow outdoor equipment from tents to ski poles at the Mountain Shop and Portland State University. Two-wheeled travelers can rent cruisers, e-bikes, mountain bikes, and more at Cycle Portland. Grab a helmet and download the BIKETOWN app for quick, easy trips on the orange e-bikes and scooters stationed around the city.
Notable Black Portlanders
Black Portlanders have shaped the city’s cultural, culinary and creative landscape for decades. Experience the art, music food and community they create all over Portland.
- Gregory Gourdet — James Beard Award–winning chef and author Gregory Gourdet celebrates Haitian flavors and Pacific Northwest ingredients at Kann, his critically acclaimed wood-fired restaurant in Southeast Portland. Kann’s adjacent cocktail bar, Sousòl, channels Caribbean nightlife with creative drinks and live DJ sets.
- Esperanza Spalding — A Grammy-winning bassist, composer and vocalist, Spalding’s genre-defying performances sometimes pop-up at local venues like the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall when she’s not touring internationally or teaching at Harvard.
- Mel Brown — Known as “The Godfather of Portland Jazz,” legendary drummer Mel Brown still performs regularly at The Jack London Revue, where visitors can catch his tight, soulful ensembles playing straight-ahead jazz or funky fusion sets.
- Intisar Abioto — A multidisciplinary artist and photographer, Abioto documents and uplifts Black Portland through public art, performance and photography. Visitors can see her work in outdoor installations like The Black Portlanders photo project or at Albina Vision Trust events.
- Renee Watson — A bestselling author and poet, Watson’s work often centers on Black girlhood and the historic Albina neighborhood. Though based in New York, she frequently returns for readings and events at Literary Arts and community spaces like Third Eye Books.
- Paul Knauls — Affectionately known as the “Mayor of Northeast Portland,” Knauls owned the iconic Geneva’s Shear Perfection salon and the legendary Cotton Club. Though the venues are gone, Knauls remains a pillar of Portland’s Black community, and his legacy is celebrated in local exhibits and oral history projects at places like Oregon Humanities.
- Stephen Green — An entrepreneur and startup advocate, Green created PitchBlack, a live pitch competition highlighting Black founders. Check out their events like PitchBlack Showcase and PitchBlack Food.
- Rukaiyah Adams — A visionary leader focused on economic justice, Adams is the CEO of the 1803 Fund, an initiative investing in Black prosperity in Portland. While her work is behind the scenes, it directly supports cultural spaces like the Albina Music Trust.
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