May 7, 2025 3:20 a.m.

Roseburg Public Library invites the community to “Oregon’s Black History: 450 Years in 45 minutes”.

The program will be presented by staff from Oregon Black Pioneers at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 15th.

A city release said people of African descent have lived and worked in Oregon since before the founding of the earliest English-speaking settlements in the Americas. Staff from the Oregon Black Pioneers will highlight key individuals and events that characterize Oregon’s unique and centuries-old Black history.

The free program, which will be held at the library on Northeast Diamond Lake Boulevard, is presented in conjunction with the Letitia Carson exhibit currently on display.

“Letitia Carson: An Enduring Spirit of Hope and Freedom” highlights the history of a Black Oregon homesteader, farmer, and matriarch living in the time of Oregon’s exclusion laws. The exhibit tells the story of Carson’s transition from enslaved woman to landowner and explains how her persistence and grit carved pathways for Black and Indigenous Oregonians today.

The Letitia Carson exhibit is on display through Friday, May 30th. Hours are 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Thursdays, and 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

For more information, contact Roseburg Public Library staff at 492-7060 or via email: library@roseburgor.gov.