Phil Knight gives $400M to benefit Black Portlanders - OPB
By Alex Zielinski (OPB)
April 24, 2023 2:01 p.m. Updated: April 24, 2023 5:38 p.m.
Phil Knight, the billionaire co-founder of Nike, is contributing $400 million to a new investment fund to support Black residents of Portland.
The gift from Knight and his wife Penny Knight to the 1803 Fund – an initiative revealed Monday – is meant to fund education services, art programs and other projects for Black Portlanders in the inner North and Northeast Portland neighborhoods once known as Albina.
Albina was the center of Black society and business in the early 1900s, but by the 1960s communities it had been decimated after city-backed urban renewal projects leveled homes and community hubs. These construction projects, which built spaces like the Memorial Coliseum, Legacy Emanuel Hospital, the Moda Center and a stretch of Interstate 5, cratered Albina’s Black population. The community, which is now represented by Eliot, Boise, Humboldt, Overlook and Piedmont neighborhoods, was further harmed by the decades of gentrification that followed these projects.
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The Knights are Oregon’s wealthiest residents and have a long history of making significant contributions to academic institutions. Phil Knight has a history of giving to Republican politicians in the state. He said his investment in the 1803 Fund reflects his personal relationship with Northeast Portland.
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https://www.opb.org/article/2023/04/24/phil-knight-nike-billionaire-400-million-black-portland-albina/
I find this donation surprising but wonderful!