HISTORY LESSONS? WHO SKIPPED THAT CLASS

History lessons come the hard way. All the dates and names pile up. We give up on history, and stop paying attention when history reads like a phone book.

But once the connections hit and we start linking names, dates, and places, we seek out history lessons.

I walked between the Portland Art Museum and the Oregon Historical Society on Monday afternoon collecting history impressions.

Impression #1

That is one sturdy statue.

How many times have you looked at a large bronze piece and wondered how durable they would be if an independent group decided to take their shot at conservation work?

Falling from a high base to the ground seems like a good chance something breaks off, like a horse leg. But it looks intact. Even the man’s hat is still on.

By the way, the man is Theodore Roosevelt, a former President, not some obscure lost cause colonel from South Carolina. My history take on Teddy is that he was a young know-it-all in his forties who fought the power. And wouldn’t shut up.

We all like guys who fight the power? Isn’t the whole point of the Portland protests to fight the power, lift Black Lives Matter, and march for police reform? While history work is no walk in the park, this could be the day recorded as a social turning point, when groups with similar interests presented decision makers with better options.

Dropping a statue on the South Park Blocks between the biggest art museum and biggest history museum in the state sent a big echo.

Or, will this day be recorded as an elevated need for more gas and ass kicking on Portland streets? Use the national attention for a better outcome than that.

Impression #2

The orange horizontal band in the center of the image is plywood over tall windows with the glass broken out. We see this every year during hurricane season.

Did a hurricane hit the South Park Blocks?

From oregonlive.com:

After toppling the statues, some protesters began smashing windows at the Oregon Historical Society, unfurling a banner that read, “Stop honoring racist colonizer murderers.” A mural on the attached Sovereign Hotel building depicting the Lewis & Clark expedition was splattered with red paint.

The best place to connect dates and places and people is a museum. A big part of the bigger history picture is the stuff people lived with in their times, and the celebrations they create to mark those times.

The traditional way is walking in the front door, stopping at admissions, then doing historical time travel. Oregon time travel isn’t a bright and shiny place for everyone, just like Portland isn’t all about Mt. Hood and Canon Beach.

The more history you learn, the more you hear a voice asking, “What the hell were they thinking?”

We hear that voice because today we know better than yesterday. And since we know better, we’re obligated to do better.

“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” —Maya Angelou

Impression #3

Oregon Historical Society makes the effort to do better. Once upon a time history was interested in the sort of material that drew enough support to collect, store, interpret, and exhibit it.

Movers and shakers contributed, served, and back-slapped at exclusive openings. I’ve heard it’s a great time, but behind the spark of cap-toed shoes and low pumps is a blue collar operation of a highly skilled crew.

Lift trucks and pallet jacks, loading and unloading, assembling and taking things apart are all part of the museum spectrum. These are people driven to make history lessons accessible, to match research and objects in an absorbing way.

They all know better and do better now, and it’s not an accident.

From Willamette Week:

As head of the Oregon Historical Society, part of Kerry Tymchuk’s job is to reckon with the state’s past. It’s not pretty, but it’s what he signed up for.

“We’re not the tourism bureau. We’re not the chamber of commerce always promoting the good,” says Tymchuk, who’s served as the nonprofit’s executive director for nine years. “We are the Historical Society. And especially at this time, when facts seem to be under attack, it’s our job to tell the true history.”

More WW:

“I feel some sadness that we were targeted, given the leadership we’ve shown in telling the true story of Oregon’s history, the good, bad and the ugly,” Tymchuk says.

Tymchuk adds that he’s sympathetic to the anger that is driving people to Portland’s streets, but he doesn’t think breaking windows and pulling down statues will help bring positive change.

“Discussion, education and learning will help us move forward,” Tymchuk says.

“There’s a process in place for removing statutes,” he continues. “There are discussions going on across the county about that. But incidents and vandalism like we saw last night don’t advance the movement, they harm it.”

History is the story of what works; the story of what was tried and failed, and what led us to the moments we share today. We are all part of story eventually, which side is yet to be seen.

It’s also the story of people who understand the need for change, and how to push it. Kerry Tymchuk is one of those guys.