Clifford F. Johnson was raised in Illinois and decided to join the U.S. Army after graduating from high school. While in the army, Johnson served at Fort Lewis, Washington during World War II. During his time there, he faced racial segregation. Recreational facilities and the chapel were segregated and he, along with a large number…

In 1966, students created the Black Student Union (BSU) to bring awareness to racial discrimination and to serve as a coalescing group for activism regarding these issues. Indeed, in April 1968, the BSU submitted a list of grievances and demands to then President Arthur Flemming. One outcome of these requests included a report proposing funding…

African-American Professor at the University of Oregon “I’ve had urine thrown on me, I’ve been through the fire… I grew up living Jim Crow—I didn’t think about it then, it was just part of life, I know life shouldn’t be that way, but I don’t look back in anger.” —Dr. Coleman, Register-Guard interview, June 2016 Dr. Edwin…

First Protest Against Discriminatory Housing Regulations at the University of Oregon “My family has always had to fight, and we have maintained a creditable position in Salem, where I have lived all of my life. I do not feel that I am a “foreigner” and that I should be segregated from other students, although I…

Activism by Japanese American Students During World War II at the University of Oregon “I just can’t find sufficient words to describe my gratitude for all that your office has done for me and other Niseis. In our darkest hour you brought forth your loving hands and gave us new hopes and inspiration. Surely Democracy…

Artist: Alexander Phimister ProctorDate: 1918, installed 1919 This sculpture, located across from Johnson Hall, in between Friendly and Fenton Hall, was dedicated with great ceremony in May 1919. The sculptor, Alexander Phimister Proctor (1862-1950), used a trapper from near Burns, Oregon, as his model. The 1918 bronze statue, mounted on a base of McKenzie River…

The First Building on Campus Deady Hall was named after Matthew Deady, a prominent judge and politician in Oregon. For many years, this was the only building on campus and only received its name long after it was completed. However, the completion of this first building has a long and complicated story that is directly…

Stones Honoring the Indigenous Peoples of the Willamette Valley The Kalapuya Talking Stones were installed in December 2002 in the Whilamut Natural Area of Alton Baker Park. The stones were quarried from a basalt deposit in traditional Kalapuya territory and were designed to serve as an education and cultural reference points, as well as beautiful…

Honoring Indigenous Sovereignty The Oregon Tribal Flagpole project started in 2012 when the Native American Student Union (NASU) and students from the School of Business began proposing the idea of flagpoles in honor of tribes throughout the state of Oregon. A group of six students in the Lundquist College of Business, with then-junior Orion Falvey…