Imagine yourself walking down the street when you turn your head to a man minding his own business, being harassed by a fellow citizen simply because they don't share the same color of skin. 

Racism has been a problem across the United States since its founding. Equity is what we have been trying to achieve, yet we have barely reached  equality.

“A lot of folk don't know the difference between equality and equity. Equality is something that we should all have but equity shows that that is not necessarily true for certain demographics in our community,” Jamar Ruff, Director of South Coast Equity Coalition, said.

How we got here

“Racism is something that has been embedded into our society… all the way back to slavery time.” Ruff said.  

Oregon has a long history of racism. A pretty long time ago, Oregon wasn’t a state. The Euopeans first discovered Oregon as a territory. After more and more people discovered it, it became a state. 

The Europeans that discovered Oregon were white. There were more people that wanted to move to Oregon, after they made it a state, the settlers wanted to make sure that only white people were allowed.

They did this by passing Oregon’s first black exclusion law. “It states that blacks who tried to settle in Oregon would be publicly whipped – thirty-nine lashes, repeated every six months – until they left Oregon,” according to the Oregon Secretary of State timeline “Black in Oregon.”

From 1884-1926, if black people moved to the state of Oregon, they could be whipped or forced into public labor, and made to leave the state. 

This long history of racism as led to inequities for black Oregonians as well as other marginalized groups. 

Equality vs. Equity

Equality gives everybody an equal amount and quality of resources. This seems fair but is a challenge for people of color as well as people with disabilities, and the LGBTQ+ community. These groups of people traditionally have not had access to the same resources to start with.

This is where equity comes in, equity recognizes that not everyone is equal  to start with and gives everyone the resources they need to achieve the same goal as others.

It may be difficult to change hearts and minds but to progress as a society we need more people working toward equity rather than going against each other. 

“An equitable approach would be to creating space to have tough conversations and acknowledge Oregon’s deep rooted history in racism first and of course history and learning history.” Jamar Said.

How to stand for equity

We asked Jamar about how he stands up to  racist people.

“I have come to the understanding that I can’t change anyone but I can advocate for the people who deserve to be here and so what I have understood is I can say things with authority without causing harm...and I can say the truth…Not saying something in the face of adversity is…also an action,” Ruff said.

If we can come together as a community and advocate for those in need we can have a healthier, happier society. There is training that can help people stand up for others. 

“Not everyone feels safe speaking out about injustices but gets to help advocate on behalf of people,” Ruff said 

For the future of our community we can help with bystander training. “Bystander training can teach us how to say something if we see something such as racism or injustice,” Ruff said. 

Ruff is currently the Director of the South Coast Equity Coalition. Their goal is to “work collectively with communities of color to advocate for policy and system change” and to “work at grassroots level along with Oregon lawmakers to pass bills that assist in historically underrepresented populations being able to thrive,” Ruff said.

To get involved, contact South Coast Equity Coalition at, (678) 654-3164.