Black Studies Education for Incarcerated Students

PORTLAND, Ore. – As a small but mighty population, Black people in Portland archive and hold on to memories, places, and spaces. A Black Studies curriculum at Portland State University connects incarcerated students to unapologetic education.

Surprisingly, Oregon became the only “free state” admitted into the Union with exclusionary laws against Black Free People of Color.

The clauses discouraged many Black people from settling in Oregon and weren’t formally abolished until 1926.

Founded in 1969, the Center for Black Studies at Portland State University became a major archive and research component for the Black Studies Department (est. September 1970).

In addition, PSU is the only higher education institution in Oregon offering a Black Studies degree, an unsettling reminder of how undervalued Black scholarship is.

To continue its mission to enlighten and uplift all students, Walidah Imarisha, Director of the Center for Black Studies and Associate Professor in the Black Studies Department, connected with Uhuru Sasa (est. 1968), the Black cultural group at Oregon State Penitentiary.

She began offering uncredited Black Studies-related courses to those incarcerated.

Eventually, the Black Studies Department collaborated with PSU’s Higher Education in Prison program (HEP) to advance incarcerated students’ education at the Oregon State Penitentiary.

“I connected with HEP, and they helped make sure our students got enrolled and received credits toward a bachelor’s degree. We had our first credited class, Intro to Black Studies, in the Spring of 2023 and we have taught at least one course there every term since,” Imarisha said.

Through this journey, the program now offers a Black Studies certification for students.

The Black Wall Street Times interviewed Walidah Imarisha to examine impactful projects like “Memory and Place in Black Portland,” the “Education and Creativity” Zine, and the power of collaboration.