Preserving Minority Communities: The Benefits of Preservation Legislation

Preserving Minority Environments: The Benefits of Preservation Legislation

Julia Larson

January 12, 2013

2 Vernacular or involving the ordinary or everyday people and sustainability are

expanding branches of the field of historic preservation. One specific branch that is continually changing is the legislation involved with preserving sites, buildings, artifacts, and intangible objects. Specifically, preserving minority cultures and encouraging their participation in society is lacking in legislation. Minorities helped shape America’s heritage identity. By understanding what a minority is, how they relate to American heritage and how they are represented in preservation legislation, more can be done to aid in preserving minority environments through legislation. The identity of America is and was shaped by minorities, acknowledging this influence can create a sustainable, rich future for future generations in America.

Minorities’ impact on American history starts with the definition of minority.

Judith R. Kramer explains a minority group as being “the product of the dominant group’s power to establish its way of life as normative and to pass on the eligibility of its participants.”1 People who are not considered dominant have a different set of values than their counterparts. This lack of access to the dominant values gives minorities an involuntarily and usually negative status in a ‘category’. The probability that they will achieve any other status is reduced. Even if the minority person ‘succeeds’ in terms of the dominant group’s values, their minority ‘category’ takes precedence over their newly achieved economic or social status. Kramer states part of the problem is that members of the minority want to succeed in terms of the larger society’s values, but with increased acculturation comes the greater deprivation of their own values.2 On the contrary, if members of the minority do not desire the dominant values, Kramer states they are not in a ‘minority situation’ but a class situation.3

Judith R. Kramer, The American Minority Community, New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1970: 4.

Ibid., 5.

3 Ibid., 6.

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3 Race is different than minority. Kramer describes race as “different from other

groups because of innate and immutable physical characteristics.”4 This race system creates a socially plural society where groups do not contact each other. The racial groups remain separate during cultural pluralism, even if there is acculturation by minorities.5 Another definition of minority is used in statistic gathering for the American Community Survey of the United States. According to the 2012 Census, minorities are growing in the United States. In the 2012 Census, the percentage of nationalities compared to the entire population surveyed were: • • • • • • •

White: 73.9% Hispanic or Latino: 16.9% Black or African American: 12.6% Asian: 5% Other: 4.6% American Indian and Alaska Native: .8% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander: .2%6

The United States is also getting closer to becoming a majority-minority population. In 2012, the total minority population was 37% of the total population. The minority percentage for children under 5 is 49.9% nationally.7 This means in the coming years, white non-Hispanics will become minorities in relation to the whole, but may still have the dominant value system. One reason the Historic Preservation field should involve all ethnicities, specifically minorities when evaluating the significance of historic resources, is exhibited by this increase in minority populations.

Ibid., 8.

Ibid.

6 U.S. Census Bureau, “ACS Demographic and Housing Estimates: 2012 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates,” American Fact Finder, U.S. Census Bureau, 2012. http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_12_1YR_DP05&p rodType=table (accessed on November 30, 2013).

7 U.S. Census Bureau, “Asians Fastest-Growing Race or Ethnic Group in 2012, Census Bureau Reports,” Newsroom Releases, June 13, 2013. http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/population/cb13112.html (accessed on November 30, 2013).

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4 Thomas Sowell in 1981 stated an ethnic minority does not exist because there was

no majority in ethnicity. He states, “the largest single identifiable ethnic stain are people of British ancestry – who make up just 15 percent of the American population…Millions of Americans cannot identify themselves at all ethnically, due to intermixtures over the generations.”8 Kramer describes this idea in terms of a minority striving to achieve an ethnic identity: “Since ethnic status and the minority situation are not synonymous, a deculturated group strives to reacquire the ethnicity it lost in subjugation.”9 For this study, the term ‘minority’ will be defined as a group in society that does not claim to have the same values as the dominant group of the area and time under investigation.

In the present day, this tension and struggle in minority history is being reintroduced to American history. This movement was started in the 1960s and 70s because people recognized that history was a white man’s history focusing on great men and events. The new historians wanted to bring blacks, women, workers, the poor and other groups to the forefront of history. This movement was called the “New Social History” focusing on the stories of ordinary people.10 Today there is another re-emerging study of understanding and acknowledging the impact of minorities in shaping America’s identity. This study addresses ecological, economic and social issues to create a more vibrant and true history.

The argument for the importance of studying the everyday people is important when looking at legislation. Why should we care about minority’s impacts on society? Locally, the African American minority affected the development of Eugene, Oregon. Eugene has a history with racial prejudice. In the 1940s African Americans could not locate safe housing in Eugene. They gathered on a riverbank outside the city

Thomas Sowell, Ethnic America: A History, New York: Basic Books, Inc. Publishers, 1981: 4.

Kramer, 211.

10 Thomas Carter and Bernard L. Herman, “Introduction: Toward a New Architectural History,’ Perspectives in Vernacular Architecture, vol. 4 (1991): 3. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3514216 (accessed on October 2, 2013).

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limits to create a neighborhood entitled, “Ferry Street Village,” which included wood framed buildings for living in.11 The community was comprised of Eugene’s first established African American families including the Mim’s, Reynold’s, and Washingtons.12 They are considered to be the start of “Black Power” in Eugene, trying to clear the racial line.13 This new community is considered to be the “bedrock of Eugene’s Black community.”14 Oregon’s Negro legislation gives insight to the social circumstances of the time. In 1844, Oregon Territory passed a law preventing free blacks from settling on the territory.

This was known as the “Lash Law” because it encouraged whipping blacks every 6 months until they left. It was replaced in 1849 by another exclusion law and was made part of the constitution when Oregon became a state in 1859. In 1927 it was removed from the constitution.15 The first Black neighborhood in Eugene was demolished for the Ferry Street Bridge, yet the struggle of minorities in Eugene and the impact that this community had on race relations needs to be remembered and understood. Spreading the acceptance of civil rights and racial equality is an important aspect Historic Preservationist’s can use to advocate for more legislation protecting and acknowledging such sites as the neighborhoods of the first Black communities.

Many legislations exist that advocate for Historic Preservation such as the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA),16 the American Indian Religious Freedom Act in 1978,17 and the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act

Chrisanne Backner, “Cultural Demolition: What Was Lost When Eugene Razed Its First Black Neighborhood?,” (Master’s thesis, University of Oregon, 2009): 10.

12 Ibid., 44.

13 Ibid., 46.

14 Ibid., 49.

15 Ibid., 48.

16 U.S. Congress, National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, Public Law 89-665, 106th Cong. http://www.achp.gov/docs/nhpa%202008-final.pdf (accessed October 31, 2013).

17 U.S. Congress, American Indian Religious Freedom Act, 42nd Cong., public law 95-341, 1978. http://www.nps.gov/history/local-law/FHPL_IndianRelFreAct.pdf (accessed October 31, 2013).

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in 1990,18 yet minority associated preservation is still minimal and needs further legislation to create a richer, more sustainable heritage for the United States.

On September 25, 2013, in the United States Congress, Representative Grijalva introduced the Preservation Research at Institutions Serving Minorities Act (PRISM Act), which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources. This Act was created to “amend the National Historic Preservation Act to direct the Secretary of the Interior to provide technical or financial assistance to Hispanic-serving institutions for the establishment of historic preservation training and degree programs.”19 This is an attempt to recognize the Hispanic influence specifically on the heritage of the United States. At the time of printing, this bill was still with the committee with a 14% chance of getting passed by the committee and 3% chance of being enacted.20 The National Park Service has programs in place to combat the sense of division among minorities. These include the NPS Publication: Heritage Matters, News of the Nation's Diverse Cultural Heritage, NPS Cultural Resources Relevancy, Diversity and Inclusion, American Latino Heritage Initiative, and Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Initiative. These programs advocate for the inclusion of minority groups in the preservation field from teenagers to adults.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation provides scholarships for diverse students to get more minority representation in the preservation profession. Creating incentives for minority populations to be involved in preservation and also become professionals in the field would increase awareness of minority issues. The National Park Service is producing newsletters for the Cesar Chavez study in Spanish and English and

18U.S. Congress, Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 101st Cong., Public Law 101-601, 1990. http://www.cr.nps.gov/nagpra/MANDATES/25USC3001etseq.htm (accessed on October 31, 2013).

19 U.S. Congress, House, Preservation Research at Institutions Serving Minorities Act. HR 3178. 113th Cong., 1st Sess. https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr3178/text (accessed on October 31, 2013).

20 Govtrack.us, “H.R. 3178”, https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr3178 (accessed December 4, 2013).

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the National Register of Historic Places has brochures now in Spanish as well.21 These tactics for including minority cultures in the dominant group’s publications are an important step on the path to legislation.

The Committee on Multicultural Education Educators’ Preparation for Cultural and Linguistic Diversity produced a ‘Call to Action’ stating the enrollment of CLD [culturally and linguistically diverse] students across the nation has grown at a phenomenal rate of 104.97 percent in the last decade. This growth rate represents an annual increase equal to five times that of the total enrollment in public schools. They go on to state one in five students throughout the nation comes from a home in which a language other than English is spoken.22 To be successful, Historic Preservation should use cues from the education field because it is an education tool. By creating an environment where students can learn about their heritage unbiased of ethnicity, income level, or gender, the cultural identity of the whole nation will benefit.

Many aspects of understanding minority environments are being revealed and studied both literally through archeology and figuratively through researching documents with first hand accounts of the lives of minorities. Many aspects of minority preservation are still being understood and interpreted including multiracial historic properties such as Monticello’s slave and servant quarters, Hispanics that fought in the Civil War, and modern immigrants. Kramer states in the instance of Negroes and Native Americans, “it is not what the dominant group attempts to do...but what the minority group is able to do that is significant [in living down their histories].”23 America’s cultural heritage is no longer a few groups of dominant settlers or suppressed indigenous peoples; it is made up of every ethnicity, nationality, income

21 National Park Service, American Latino Heritage Projects. http://www.nps.gov/latino/ (accessed December 2, 2013).

22 Committee on Multicultural Education Educators’ Preparation for Cultural and Linguistic Diversity. A Call to Action. March 2002: 1. http://aacte.org/pdf/Programs/Multicultural/culturallinguistic.pdf (accessed December 4, 2013).

23 Kramer, 189.

 level, and race in the world. Even though each of these influences cannot be involved in preservation legislation, they can all be involved in the education and appreciation of each individual heritage. With the increase in minority rights as part of preservation legislation, the heritage identity of the United States will grow and create a more sustainable environment for generations to come; people will each grow their own identity and feel a part of society as a whole.

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9 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Backner, Chrisanne. “Cultural Demolition: What Was Lost When Eugene Razed Its First Black Neighborhood?.” Master’s thesis, University of Oregon, 2009.

Carter, Thomas and Bernard L. Herman. “Introduction: Toward a New Architectural History.” Perspectives in Vernacular Architecture, vol. 4 (1991): 1-6. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3514216 (accessed on October 2, 2013).

Committee on Multicultural Education Educators’ Preparation for Cultural and Linguistic Diversity. A Call to Action. March 2002. http://aacte.org/pdf/Programs/Multicultural/culturallinguistic.pdf (accessed December 4, 2013).

Govtrack.us. “H.R. 3178.” https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr3178 (accessed December 4, 2013).

Kramer, Judith R. The American Minority Community. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1970.

National Park Service. American Latino Heritage Projects. http://www.nps.gov/latino/ (accessed December 2, 2013).

Sowell, Thomas. Ethnic America: A History. New York: Basic Books, Inc. Publishers, 1981.

U.S. Census Bureau. “ACS Demographic and Housing Estimates: 2012 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates.” American Fact Finder, U.S. Census Bureau, 2012. http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml? pid=ACS_12_1YR_DP05&prodType=table (accessed on November 30, 2013).

U.S. Census Bureau. “Asians Fastest-Growing Race or Ethnic Group in 2012, Census Bureau Reports.” Newsroom Releases, June 13, 2013. http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/population/cb13-112.html (accessed on November 30, 2013).

U.S. Congress. American Indian Religious Freedom Act. 42nd Cong., public law 95-341, 1978. http://www.nps.gov/history/local-law/FHPL_IndianRelFreAct.pdf (accessed October 31, 2013).

U.S. Congress. House. Preservation Research at Institutions Serving Minorities Act. HR 3178. 113th Cong., 1st Sess. https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr3178/text (accessed on October 31, 2013).

U.S. Congress. National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. Public Law 89-665, 106th Cong. http://www.achp.gov/docs/nhpa%202008-final.pdf (accessed October 31, 2013).

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U.S. Congress. Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. 101st Cong., Public Law 101-601, 1990. http://www.cr.nps.gov/nagpra/MANDATES/25USC3001etseq.htm (accessed on October 31, 2013).