'Positive force for change': Blazers and Albina Vision Trust join forces to help revitalize historically Black neighborhood

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The Portland Trail Blazers are teaming up with the non-profit Albina Vision Trust to help revitalize a historically Black neighborhood that was razed decades ago for urban development.

Many of the homes in the Lower Albina Neighborhood in North Portland were demolished in the 1950s and 60s to make room for what is now Interstate 5.

The new partnership, called the Albina Rose Alliance, aims to turn the Rose Quarter into a hub for resurgence, including at its two large sports arenas: the Moda Center and Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

J.T. Flowers, a spokesperson for Albina Vision Trust, told KOIN 6 News that even though Portland is known statistically as the whitest large city in America, it also has a "very strong, very vibrant and very abundant Black community that's always existed in this place."

"Our community was pushed into Albina, right? We were redlined into the district. It's the only place in the city we were allowed to live. And over the course of generations, we were then pushed out of that neighborhood and scattered across the city," Flowers said. "That didn’t just have a functional impact on our community, it also had a very deep spiritual impact on our people."

According to a release, the Albina Rose Alliance will focus on four key areas: development strategies for Lower Albina, storytelling and communications initiatives, legislative strategy and advocacy, and celebrating community through events and gatherings.

"What we’re really fighting to assert in this space is the notion that every single one of our residents in the city of Portland — regardless of the color of their skin, regardless of their economic background — has a right to lay claim to this place, to feel at home in this place, and to know at the most fundamental level that they belong," Flowers said.

“The Portland Trail Blazers have a legacy of connection with the Albina neighborhood and are committed to working in partnership with the Albina Vision Trust to be a positive force for change moving forward,” said Dewayne Hankins, president of business operations for the Portland Trail Blazers and Rip City Management. “Rip City is a part of the fabric of our community, and reinvestment in Moda Center and the Rose Quarter can be foundational to supporting community-led restorative development efforts throughout Lower Albina.”

Portland Public Schools previously agreed to sell their headquarters — located a half-mile away from the Moda Center — to Albina Vision Trust for future affordable housing and community space developments.