From the list of books I read this year. No particular order, and dubiously related to urbanism and cities in some cases. But a few of them are, and really radically changed how I view cities in general and Portland specifically as well.

The Color Of Law – Richard Rothstein

A must read for anyone who has the slightest interest in cities I’d say. The central premise explored is primarily related to the FHA (and federal government at large) only extended credit for mortgages to white people, and that this consists of de jure segregation for which the federal government must do more than simply allow mortgages to anyone who wants one now. The federal government forced residential segregation on communities that were previously integrated, and seriously fractured our society as a result.

Sundown Towns – James Loewen

I read a lot of James Loewen this year, and think pretty much anything he’s written is worth reading. In a lot of ways, it’s a fitting follow up to Color Of Law that’s focused more on the social environment of post-reconstruction America and the pretext for the 20th century urban ghettos, white flight, and racism in small-town USA. The core idea is centered around how basically every place in the US was so hostile to Black Americans in the late 19th and early 20th century, that there are countless examples of entire states, cities, towns, and villages attempting (with various degrees of success) to terrorize whatever Black community existed out of town all together. The places that were successful – typically smaller towns – continue to have minimal integration and are racist to this day.

The characterization of small town America as a white place happened because of terrorism towards the small (but non-zero) Black population that had dispersed from the South after the Civil War. It’s not an easy read, but I learned a lot and it gave me a broader understanding of my country as a whole – even if it’s not pretty. If you don’t have the time to read this, I’d still recommend checking out this database of suspected or confirmed Sundown Towns.

The Portland Black Panthers – Lucas N. N. Burke & Judson L. Jefferies

If you live in Portland, this book is a must read. From free health clinics, to the free breakfast program for school kids, to large scale efforts resisting urban renewal projects forced on them by distant bureaucrats the Panthers left a huge mark on both the country at large and Portland specifically. It’s hard for me to put into words how good this book is – it really radically shifted my understanding of the city of Portland. The abandoned Legacy Emanuel Hospital expansion that demolished the heart of Albina in the 70s, the brutal realities of redlining, and the horrors of police brutality, They are all still extremely relevant today – especially as ODOT continues to push their freeway expansion/cap as “restorative justice” for Albina (despite not actually providing any tangible funding for any housing, social programs, or anything – just a cap with more “developable land”).

Consider this an official recommendation to the city of Portland to re-name the Ira Keller Fountain to the Kent Ford fountain as well.

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee – Dee Brown

Maybe I’m a little late to the party here, but this book is really good. It’s heartbreaking and just as relevant now as it was when it was written 1970. The US has still not properly compensated, reckoned with, or tried to really understand the damage it has done to its native peoples. It’s worth reading this just to compare it to what you may have learned about in school. In school, I recall the theme of Native American removal to be “they were just in the way of progress” giving it a sense of inevitability. But none of the events that happened were inevitable, they were the result of an explicitly anti-Indian policy imposed by all levels of government – but especially by the Western states and the US Army.

Overall, this book really changed how I view a plethora of issues in the Western US especially. I read a newspaper article in Joseph, Oregon once about how a white woman from Portland was complaining about “too many people moving to the Wallowa Valley”. After reading and knowing the history of the Nez Perce – who were forcibly extradited from the Wallowa Valley after encroachment from white settlers (in violation of a treaty), it’s hard to stomach takes like the one that woman had.

I would also recommend this video if you want a similarly high-quality look into American Indian history (with more discussion about policy and current affairs).

Open Veins of Latin America – Eduardo Galeano

I read this book at the beginning of the year, and it set a tone for me in the issues and ideas I wanted to explore. It’s a controversial book, being described by the Washington Post as “the idiots bible” for its repudiation of free market economies. And to this I’d say it’s easy to be pro free market when you already have all the capital.

I found the text to be engaging, albeit very dense. But the thematic heart of the book – the idea that colonialist extraction of Latin American wealth has led to the flow of money toward distant power centers (Spain historically, the USA today) – is still worth engaging with.

But beyond the political narrative (which I find compelling), I found the book to be very interesting even just as a general history of Latin America. More or less everything I had read or learned about before reading this book was relegated to very USA-centric; things like the Spanish American War, the Mexican American War, or the Cuban Revolution – but only how they changed US History. Learning the history of silver mining in Mexico and Bolivia, and how latifundios and plantations have wrecked the landscape in Brazil and Colombia is worth learning about even if you aren’t a left winger.

Wobblies & Zapatistas – Staughton Lynd & Andrej Grubacic

Evidently, my foray into political thought has been heavily influenced by the history of the IWW. This book is a series of conversations between the authors, centering on synthesizing common ground between Marxist and Anarchist traditions. I’m not really familiar with much on the Marxist side of political thought, and hardly much of an anarchist either but I still found the topics discussed to be plenty interesting in their own right.

A central theme discussed is accompaniment – Lynd spends a lot of time stressing that you need to get out there and be with people to understand what they need. I’ve been keeping this in mind as I navigate grad school applications and never ending planning processes for projects that I like and hate. It’s very uncommon for anything to be properly grassroots, and I think that makes the places we live less interesting and worse off. Lynd also discusses the need for providing a tangible skill – he became a lawyer with the express purpose of providing legal counsel to working class people (his previous schooling had been in history).

Honorable Mentions

The Will to Change – bell hooks. I read this a few days ago, and really enjoyed it. I think it’s worth reading for everyone. It makes a difficult topic (men and masculinity in the context of the patriarchy and feminism) very approachable. 9/10, you should read this book.

A River Lost – Blaine Harden. Documents the history of the Columbia River through the perspectives of the various groups of people who have called the region home. Understanding water policy in the American West has been something I’ve read a lot about this year, and this was my favorite of the books I read this year exploring it. 8.5/10, read this book if you live in Oregon, Washington, or BC.

Dishonorable Mention

To Shake the Sleeping Self. I really wanted to like this book, I mean I love adventures on my bike and self discovery but talk about disappointing. Glosses over most of South America, leaves the only interesting part of the book behind in Peru, doesn’t resolve any of the actual conflict. 3/10, don’t read this unless you want to be annoyed.