EVERY
EVERY OTHER BLACK PERSON IN THIS COMMUNITY DOES.
I'M GETTING AHEAD OF MYSELF,
BESIDES, SENATOR FREDERICK
TELLS IT A LOT BETTER THAN I
CAN.
CAN.
CAN. >>
CAN. >> MY NAME IS LOU FREDERICK.
I WANT TO TALK ABOUT MY
EXPERIENCES HERE IN OREGON.
♪ ♪ I ARRIVED HERE IN
PORTLAND IN 1974.
I HAD TAKEN THE TRAIN ACROSS
JUST FROM ATLANTA TO SEATTLE. I
TOOK THE BUS FROM SEATTLE AND I
GOT DOWN HERE.
I WAS GREETED BY PEOPLE SAYING
HELLO AS I WALKED TO THE BUS
STATION AND I WANTED TO KNOW
WHAT THEY WANTED BECAUSE I WAS
REALLY SURPRISED TO SEE PEOPLE
JUST SAY HELLO SPONTANEOUSLY.
I ACTUALLY CAME HERE TO JOIN A
MIME TROUPE [ LAUGHTER ]. I
GREW UP IN A LOT OF LACES.
I WAS BORN IN WASHINGTON.
MY FATHER GOT HIS PHD THERE.
THEN, WE MOVED TO RHODE ISLAND,
THEN BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA.
MOST OF THE TIME, WE WERE AT
SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY IN BATON
ROUGE.
ROUGE.
ROUGE. I
ROUGE. I REMEMBER VIVIDLY THE WATER
FOUNTAINS THAT WERE COLORED AND
WHITE WATER FOUNTAINS.
WE WERE IN A DEPARTMENT STORE
AND I WENT OVER TO DRINK AT THE
WATER FOUNTAIN AND THE COLORED
WATER FOUNTAIN WAS BROKEN.
I WAS DRINKING OUT OF THE WHITE
WATER FOUNTAIN THAT I WAS
PROBABLY 4 OR 5 YEARS OLD.
THE DEPARTMENT STORE OWNER CAME
OVER AND SAID TO MY DAD, THAT
BOY CAN'T DRINK OUT OF THAT
WATER FOUNTAIN, IT SAYS, WHITE.
>> MY FATHER TURNED TO HIM AND
SAID, I'M SORRY, HE CAN'T READ.
I COULD READ JUST FINE.
I WAS NOT GOING TO PUT UP WITH
THAT AND I WAS GOING TO DRINK
SOME WATER.
SOME WATER. WE LEFT BATON ROUGE AFTER THE
DEMONSTRATIONS AND MOVED TO
ATLANTA.
ATLANTA.
ATLANTA. WE WENT FROM THE FRYING PAN
INTO THE FRYER.
IN ATLANTA, OUR NEIGHBORS WERE
DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN THE CIVIL
RIGHTS MOVEMENT.
RIGHTS MOVEMENT. MY PLAYMATES WERE MARTY,
YOLANDA, AND DEXTER KING. DR.
KING WAS THEIR FATHER, MY
PLAYMATES.
PLAYMATES. THE GUY THAT TOLD ME TO QUIT
RUNNING THROUGH THE HOUSE AND
TO TURN DOWN THE MUSIC.
I MARCHED EVERY OTHER WEEKEND
OR SO WITH VARIOUS PEOPLE. I
WOULD BE CARRYING SOMETHING
THAT WOULD SAY, ONE MAN, ONE
VOTE, OR FREE SOMEBODY, OR
SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
I WAS PROBABLY 11 OR 12 YEARS
OLD.
OLD.
OLD. I
OLD. I ENDED UP DISAGGREGATING MY
HIGH SCHOOL.
HIGH SCHOOL. THAT FIRST DAY WAS A DIFFICULT
ONE.
ONE.
ONE. IT
ONE. IT BEGAN WHEN I WAS 13.
I LIVED HERE IN SOUTHWEST
ATLANTA.
ATLANTA.
ATLANTA. CHANNEL 8 HAS I THINK WE BROKE
IT UP INTO A TWO PART SERIES ON
MY TRIP BACK TO MY HIGH SCHOOL
FOR MY 20th REUNION, WHICH WAS
1989.
1989.
1989. >>
1989. >> Reporter: DAILY FIGHTS OVER
RACE AND OTHER ISSUES WERE NOT
UNCOMMON.
UNCOMMON.
UNCOMMON. >> I ENDED UP DISAGGREGATING MY
HIGH SCHOOL.
HIGH SCHOOL. >> Reporter: AND THEN THERE
WERE THE GUYS THAT SHOWED ME
THEIR JUNIOR KU KLUX KLAN
CARDS.
CARDS.
CARDS. >>
CARDS. >> I THINK THERE IS STILL A LOT
OF UNDERLYING PREJUDICE.
IT IS SAD TO SAY, BUT UNTIL
THAT LAST GENERATION DIES OFF,
IT IS GOING TO BE THERE.
>> EVERY DAY WE FIGHT TO PUSH
BACK THE PREJUDICE, THE FEAR OF
THINGS WE DON'T KNOW.
>> WHEN I GOT TO PORTLAND AND
STARTED TEACHING, I TAUGHT FOR
2 YEARS AT THE METROPOLITAN
LEARNING CENTER.
LEARNING CENTER. I LEFT THERE AND WENT INTO
RADIO FOR 6 MONTHS AND INTO
TELEVISION.
TELEVISION. I WAS ON TELEVISION AT CHANNEL
8 FROM 1977 THROUGH 1973.
I WENT TO ALL 36 COUNTIES AS A
REPORTER.
REPORTER.
REPORTER. I WAS A REPORTER WITH A
PHOTOGRAPHER WITH A MARKED
CHANNEL 8 NEWS VAN.
SO, THAT CLEARLY HAD AN IMPACT
AS WELL.
AS WELL.
AS WELL. I GOT A CHANCE TO KNOW SOME
PEOPLE WHO DID NOT KNOW THAT
AND WE HAD GOOD CONVERSATIONS
IN BURNS, PRINEVILLE, AND
LAKEVIEW.
LAKEVIEW.
LAKEVIEW. I'VE ALSO HAD SOME NOT GOOD
EXPERIENCES.
EXPERIENCES. ONE OF THEM WAS IN A CHANNEL 8
NEWS VAN.
NEWS VAN.
NEWS VAN. WE WENT OUT TO DO A SERIES OF
STORIES ON THE COAST.
ON THE WAY BACK, WE CAME
THROUGH KING CITY.
AS WE WERE DRIVING ALONG, WE
GOT PULLED OVER AND THE POLICE
OFFICER TOOK A LONG TIME TO
COME UP TO THE CAR.
HE CALLED FOR BACKUP.
THE PHOTOGRAPHER SAID TO ME,
YOU NEED TO GET YOUR
REGISTRATION.
REGISTRATION. I SAID I AM NOT MOVING UNTIL HE
ASKS ME TO.
THE COP CAME TO THE WINDOW AND
SAID, YOU ARE GOING PRETTY FAST
THROUGH HERE, I NEED YOUR
REGISTRATION.
REGISTRATION. I SAID, THE REGISTRATION IS IN
THE GLOVE COMPARTMENT.
THE GLOVE COMPARTMENT IS BELOW
ME IN THIS CAR.
I WILL GET IT FOR YOU.
I STARTED TO REACH FOR IT
SLOWLY.
SLOWLY.
SLOWLY. THE GUN CAME OUT AND IT IS
POINTED ACROSS THE FACE OF THE
PHOTOGRAPHER.
PHOTOGRAPHER. I SAID, LISTEN, IF YOU WANT ME
TO GET THE REGISTRATION, I WILL
DO THAT, BUT I'M NOT GOING TO
GET SHOT DOING IT.
HE SAID I NEED TO SEE HER HANDS
AT ALL TIME, I SET THAT WILL BE
DIFFICULT BECAUSE I GOT TO
REACH DOWN HERE.
ONE HAND REACHED DOWN SLOWLY.
I GOT THE REGISTRATION OUT AND
HANDED IT TO THE PHOTOGRAPHER
WHO PASSED IT ALONG AND HE CAME
BACK AND SAID, WELL, YOU ARE
GOING PRETTY FAST, BUT I'M
GOING TO GIVE YOU A WARNING FOR
THAT.
THAT.
THAT. THE
THAT. THE PHOTOGRAPHER TURNED TO ME
AND SAID WHAT THE WAS THAT?
I SAID, WELCOME TO MY WORLD.
NOW, I AM A STATE SENATOR.
THERE IS A LONG LIST OF BILLS
THAT WE ARE GOING TO LOOK AT,
BUT WE REALLY NEED TO LOOK AT A
BASIC ATTITUDE, A CHANGE IN
ATTITUDE.
ATTITUDE.
ATTITUDE. THE ATTITUDE CHANGE IS ONE I
WOULD LIKE TO SEE AND I DON'T
EXPECT IT IS GOING TO HAPPEN BY
ANY MEANS OVERNIGHT.
BUT THE ATTITUDE CHANGE THAT
HAS GOT TO HAPPEN AS WELL IS
FOLKS UNDERSTANDING THAT DARKER
SKIN DOES NOT MEAN YOU GET A
CHANCE TO CONSIDER PEOPLE NOT
PEOPLE.
PEOPLE.
PEOPLE. I
PEOPLE. I WAS STOPPED AT LEAST THREE
TIMES NOW COMING DOWN MY STREET
. HE SAID, WELL, I'M JUST
CHECKING.
CHECKING.
CHECKING. I SAID, NO, YOU ARE NOT JUST
CHECKING. YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY
I AM IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD AND
IT IS A GENTRIFIED NEIGHBORHOOD
AND YOU DON'T EXPECT TO SEE MY
FACE HERE, I GET IT.
I LIVE RIGHT HERE AND I HAVE
LIVED IN THIS HOUSE SINCE 1977.
FOR ME, ANYTIME I SEE A POLICE
OFFICER BEHIND ME, I WONDER IF
I AM GOING TO LIVE THE REST OF
THE DAY BECAUSE I HAVE NO IDEA
WHETHER THEY ARE GOING TO BE IN
A BAD MOOD, OR TRY TROLLING FOR
SOMEBODY, OR JUST WANTING TO
SHOW THAT THEY ARE DOMINANT
SOMEHOW.
SOMEHOW.
SOMEHOW. I HAVE NO IDEA AND THAT IS HOW
I HAVE TO DEAL WITH THIS.
SO, I HAVE FRIENDS OF MINE WHO
ARE POLICE OFFICERS, WHITE,
BLACK, LATINO, NATIVE AMERICAN
AND ASIAN.
AND ASIAN. THEY ARE ALL GOOD PEOPLE THAT I
KNOW OF, BUT I DON'T KNOW SOME
OF THEIR COLLEAGUES BECAUSE
SOME OF THEIR COLLEAGUES CAN
DECIDE THAT THEY NEED TO SHOW
HOW TOUGH THEY ARE.
I THINK I CAN HELP MAKE A
CHANGE, THAT IS THE KEY FOR ME.
CAN I CHANGE THIS?
THAT IS MY JOB. MY FATHER, DR.
KING, AND MY MOTHER, THEY ALL
SAID ONE THING.
THEY SAID YOUR JOB IS TO MAKE
THINGS BETTER FOR THE PEOPLE