Honoring Abner H. Francis

 

Plaque dedication:  From Left, James Larpenteur, Lang Syne Socity; William J. Hawkins III, architectural historian; State Sen. Lew Fredricks; Kimberly Moreland, Oregon Black Pioneers; Kenneth Hawkins, historian; Dave Dahl, Lang Syne Society (Sarah Munro photo)

 We pause today from our customary respect for vintage buildings and public places to honor a small piece of Portland’s long-gone architectural history and a man who should not be forgotten, Abner H. Francis.

Francis was an early Black Portland pioneer, who, with his brother, I.B. Francis, operated a well-regarded clothing store in one of Portland’s earliest brick buildings, located on the corner of S.W. Stark Street and Front Ave.  This alone was a major feat in a territory that by law said a Black person could not reside, vote, or own property. 

Francis had been an active abolitionist for 20 years before arriving in Oregon, where he hoped that the Oregon Territory would allow freedom for Blacks to build businesses and enjoy equality guaranteed by the US. Constitution.  He had become a friend of Frederick Douglass long before his arrival in Oregon, and wrote nine mostly lengthy to Douglass discussing racial issues in Oregon and San Francisco, where he travelled often on business.

Douglass printed Francis's letters in his abolitionist newspapers. 

 “Francis’s letters. . . . show how systemic racism in the Oregon Territory reflected slavery politics in the United States, how White supremacists worked to thwart Black leaders such as Francis, and how a network of lesser-known abolitionists joined Francis and Douglass for years to resist White supremacy across the nation,” wrote historian Kenneth Hawkins. 

 Hawkins, who holds a doctorate in history, reprinted nine of the Francis letters to Douglass and added historical context in “A Proper Attitude of Resistance,” in the Winter, 2020, edition of the Oregon Historical Quarterly.  Hawkins’ research on Francis’s life in Portland is detailed and extensive.

 During his first year in Portland, a judge ruled that Francis had to leave, based on the Black exclusion law passed by the Territorial Legislature in 1849.  More than 200 Portlanders signed a petition urging that Francis be allowed to remain, and an exclusion order was never implemented.  Regardless of that attempt, Francis remained a devoted abolitionist and argued unsuccessfully for termination of the Black exclusion law.  A state constitutional provision approved by voters in 1857 declared that Oregon would not allow slavery – nor would it allow Blacks as residents. 

The Oregon Black Pioneers history organization is aware of other Black pioneers like Francis who remained in several Oregon locations despite the constitutional provision.  Many of them ran successful small businesses or were successful at trades.  However, they did not enjoy the greater rights and opportunities assured to White residents, and survived by keeping a low profile in their occupational and social lives. 

The deprivations suffered because of race apparently aren't worthy of discussing or teaching in modern schools, according to a popular view of many who apparently believe that American history is composed only of feel-good moments. 

In 1860, A.H. Francis had an opportunity to visit Victoria, B.C., where the parents of his wife had emigrated.  He liked the appearance of the city and the opportunity it represented.  In a letter to Douglass, he wrote, “In relation to colorphobia, I must close by saying that there is a grand future for the colored man in British possessions on the north Pacific.”  Certainly more grand than in Oregon. 

 Francis ultimately became a British citizen.  He died in 1872.

A plaque honoring Francis has been placed near the site of his long-gone store by the Lang Syne Society, which places historical markers around the city, and by Oregon Black Pioneers.

 ----Fred Leeson

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