Black Leaders Build Connection and Belonging

Building the ‘Freedom Dream’ Together

Rhodes Scholar Aryn A. Frazier didn’t just move to Portland — she was drawn to its vibrant Black community and its resilient spirit. As Executive Director of the Center for Black Excellence, Aryn is at the forefront of a movement to redefine educational outcomes for Black students in Portland.

Why Portland?

Aryn was inspired by the Black community’s decades-long fight against displacement and its efforts to rebuild through initiatives like the Albina Vision Trust — America’s largest restorative redevelopment effort. For Aryn, this fight demonstrates the West’s ‘freedom dream’ — a vision Black families have pursued with courage and determination.

A Bold Vision for Black Education

Under Aryn’s leadership and with the community’s guidance, the Center for Black Excellence focuses on:

1. E.T.H.O.S. Enrichment Initiative: Connecting Black students to 8,000 hours of out-of-school learning by 8th grade.
2. Possibilities Labs: K–12 career exploration to broaden horizons.
3. G.O.A.T. Curriculum Enhancements: Making learning culturally relevant and locally grounded.
4. Supporting the Center for Black Student Excellence: Holding the district accountable to its promise of student excellence.
5. Digital Resource Hub: Launching soon to provide accessible educational resources citywide.

The Center for Black Excellence’s Theory of Transformation:

“We must fully resource every child.” It’s about more than just filling gaps — it’s about building thriving communities where every child has the support they need to succeed.

Looking Ahead

These ambitious goals are not just plans — they’re a call to action. With the support of partners like the Oregon Community Foundation, the Center for Black Excellence is shaping a future where Black students in Portland receive the resources, opportunities, and recognition they deserve.

Read the full interview here.

“I didn’t know we could be pilots.” That’s what one student told Willamette High School teacher Nate Jackson after joining the Black Student Union and traveling to Washington, D.C.  Black students represent 2% of the population at the Lane County High School, giving them little exposure to the full range of Black culture. That’s why Mr. Jackson and fellow advisors Laura and Curtis Mitchell are working tirelessly to show them what’s possible.

Bethel Students

This year, they’re taking 14 students to Atlanta to visit Historically Black Colleges and Universities and experience thriving Black communities. Next year, they want to take students even further — to Tanzania — to explore African history beyond slavery and connect with a legacy of excellence that dates to ancient civilizations.

“When you don’t see yourself as excellent — as a CEO, a manager, a business owner — then it’s hard to be that,” Mr. Jackson says.

A 240-acre town site in Maxville, Oregon, has been reclaimed to tell the powerful and complex story of Oregon’s logging history.

A century ago, Black loggers —  including Gwen Trice’s father — helped build Maxville despite exclusion laws meant to keep them out. The thriving but segregated town disappeared when the lumber company shut down, nearly erasing its place in history.

Gwen Trice

For years, Gwen Trice and the Maxville Heritage Interpretive Center have worked to preserve this vital story. And now, thanks to support from individual donors and Oregon Community Foundation, the town site has been purchased and will be transformed into a space for education, healing, and connection.

The last standing original structure will be rebuilt. Retreat and classroom space will honor the Black, Indigenous, and immigrant loggers who shaped Oregon's forests.

“I came back to a place where I belong, a place where I can create change, a place to create healing,” Gwen says. “I think the ancestors see us.”