Hey everyone! It’s your host and fellow “Pionerd,” Mariah Rocker, coming to you with the latest edition of The Quest Continues. This is your essential resource for all BHQ news, so keep reading for a summary of our last episode and a preview of what’s ahead.
Black History Quest: The Black Soldiers of Camp White
March’s episode featured local educator Kellen Akiyama, who sought out the stories of Black soldiers at Camp White, Oregon, during WWII. Though his research shows that there were many Black soldiers at Camp White at any given time, their presence in the makeshift town was largely absent from the historical record. Kellen uncovered more about a Black recreation center established in Medford; the response of local residents, including opening up their homes for Black soldiers; and stories of individual soldiers, like Claude Wells, who later went to Italy to help liberate it from the Nazis.
Kellen reflected on how his research will change the way he teaches WWII, focusing more on how communities at home contributed to the war effort and how racism shaped experiences in the military, even far from battlefields.
In the episode, Kellen stressed that there is still so much research to be done, as more details about these stories might be found in personal collections across the nation, or in recollections of known folks who opened up their homes in the area. We might have to have him back for another episode!
Here are some links Kellen referenced in the presentation:
Just People Like Us, by Guy Maynard — Oregon Humanities
USO – FOR THE TROOPS | A Home for African American Troops | PBS
Like every episode of Black History Quest, our Investigator’s work demonstrated how there is still so much unknown, and many other threads that need to be pulled and stitched together to reveal the true tapestry of our local Black history.
The Quest Continues…IRL
Preview of What’s Next
Next month’s BHQ features Greta Smith Wisnewski, who has been researching the Vanport Refugee Compensation Efforts. Greta is the Program Manager for Vanport Mosaic, a memory-activism platform dedicated to preserving the history of Vanport. This episode coincides with their 11th annual Vanport Mosaic Festival, so check out their website for more details on related events.
And make sure to join us live on Tuesday, May 27, at 7:00 PM on Facebook or YouTube to learn more about this new research!
Can’t get enough?
If you have stories or insights to contribute about anything featured on Black History Quest, we’d love to hear from you. Feel free to share your thoughts with us!
Want to be a future history investigator? Send an email to hello@oregonblackpioneers.org!
For more content, check out our previous episodes of Black History Quest on YouTube.
Signing off,
