Portland, Oregon – A Hidden History of Structural Racism: Information Design

Role: Concept, Research, Graphics, Typography, Layout

As I have seen myself become radicalized by the events of the past year, I used this information design project to shed light on a taboo topic which absolutely must be addressed.

Portland bills itself as a progressive, accepting place for all, yet it is one of the least diverse large cities in the United States. Like many other privileged white people from the area, I was brought up with a sense of pride in the fact that my hometown was seemingly above the historical ills of racism when in fact, exactly the opposite was true. As a society, it is always difficult to reconcile with our ugly past. So much so that it is most often simply ignored, but choosing ignorance only compounds the problem. My goal for this work is that viewers take time to reflect on this information and feel motivated to address the contemporary issues of racial discrimination that threaten our society.