Juneteenth Recap, A Maxville Collab, & a Resource Update!
What’s good, readers? Education Manager Jesse here with Oregon Black Pioneers’ Education News, where we will be recapping our Juneteenth Educator Workshop, highlighting our collaboration with the Maxville Heritage Interpretive Center and providing a curriculum/resource update!
RECAP: Juneteenth Educator Workshop
On Juneteenth, Oregon Black Pioneers hosted its first professional learning experience dedicated entirely to Oregon’s Black history. 29 K–12 educators from across Oregon and Southwest Washington spent the day exploring Oregon’s Black exclusion laws, learning about overlooked Black Oregonians, participating in interactive classroom lessons, and touring Portland’s historic Albina neighborhood.
The workshop demonstrated the strong demand for resources that help educators bring Oregon’s Black history into their classrooms. According to our survey, 100% of participants plan to use Oregon Black Pioneers resources with students, 96% plan to share what they learned with colleagues, and 92% are interested in future professional learning and classroom partnerships. Together, these educators have the potential to bring a more complete and inclusive understanding of Oregon history to thousands of students across the region.
Read more here.
Collaboration with the Maxville Heritage Interpretive Center
In July, Oregon Black Pioneers partnered with Gwen Trice and the Maxville Heritage Interpretive Center to develop educational resources for teachers attending the Oregon Historical Society’s Ethnic Studies Summer Institute. Approximately 40 educators, primarily from Eastern Oregon and the La Grande area, explored the history of Maxville, a logging community that, despite segregated schools and baseball teams, developed strong relationships rooted in community and interdependence.
Teachers engaged with Maxville’s story by analyzing historical photographs, interpreting physical and political maps, and reading and discussing an informational text. The experience provided educators with new tools for helping students examine the complexities of race, labor, place, and community in Oregon’s history. We are also in the process of developing NEW Maxville materials and resources for 4th grade and high school students which will drop at the end of the calendar year.
Black Pioneers & TrailBlazers Thematic Unit UPDATE
Throughout the 2025–26 school year, Oregon Black Pioneers surveyed more than 40 educators from across the state about what they believed their students were most interested in learning about Black Oregon history. The overwhelming response was clear: teachers and students want greater access to the stories of individual Black Oregonians.
Over the next several months, OBP will be developing new curriculum resources and lessons to help meet this need. In the meantime, we encourage educators to explore our existing Black Pioneers & Trailblazers thematic unit. We have also gathered stories of Black Oregonians featured throughout other OBP thematic units and across our website, making it easier for teachers to bring the experiences, contributions, and stories of individual Black Oregonians into their classrooms.
Thank you for continuing to learn, teach, and share Oregon’s Black history. Every lesson taught, story shared, and question asked helps ensure that Black Oregonians are recognized as an essential part of our state’s story. We’re excited for what’s ahead and grateful to have you learning alongside us.
Until next time — keep learning, keep asking questions, and keep making Black history visible!
Bringing Oregon’s Black history to life—lesson by lesson,
Dr. Jesse Hendryx-Dobson (he/him)
Education Manager
Oregon Black Pioneers