Portland will pay $8.5 million to families displaced in the past

(JULY 21, 2025) The city of Portland has agreed to pay $8.5 million to 26 people whose families were forced to leave their homes and businesses many years ago.

From the 1950s to the 1970s, Portland removed many Black families from the Central Albina neighborhood. The city said it needed the land for new roads and a hospital. But the hospital was never fully built, and many of the properties have stayed empty.

In 2022, some of the families' descendants sued the city, saying it caused great harm to their community. They also said that the city and other organizations had worked together to destroy a successful Black neighborhood.

Last week, Portland’s City Council agreed to settle the lawsuit. The original offer was $2 million, but after listening to the public, the council voted to increase it to $8.5 million.

Council president Elana Pirtle-Guiney said the city had used laws and policies to take Black-owned homes and businesses. “It happened through public policy,” she said. “It displaced Black Portlanders and disrupted generational progress.”

Each of the 26 descendants will receive about $327,000. The city will pay $7.5 million, and Prosper Portland, a development agency, will add $1 million.

The city also agreed to give land back to the families and to create a new annual holiday called Descendants Day. In addition, Portland will help support a film project about what happened in the Albina neighborhood.

One man, Royal Harris, whose family lived near the hospital, said: “We are talking about big changes that hurt families and communities. We want the city to admit the harm and give proper compensation.”