Community Conversation: Holding Difficult Truths: Transforming Our Broken Past into a Hopeful Future

Join Gladstone author Sarah L. Sanderson and the founder of the Oregon Remembrance Project, Taylor Stewart, for a discussion of Sarah's book, The Place We Make: Breaking the Legacy of Legalized Hate. Sarah will share her own story of discovering that her ancestors participated in exiling Jacob Vanderpool from Oregon City in 1851 under the exclusion laws that prevented Black people from residing in Oregon. With Taylor's help, we'll talk about what we might gain from uncovering difficult truths—including difficult truths about what has happened in the past right here in Clackamas County—and how we might transform those challenges into opportunities for a new kind of future. 

Sarah L. Sanderson is the author of The Place We Make: Breaking the Legacy of Legalized Hate, which was selected as a Best Book of 2023 by Sojourners Magazine and is an Amazon Editors’ Pick for Best History. She looks forward to opening a conversation about our region's local past, present, and future. 

Taylor Stewart is the founder and Executive Director of the Oregon Remembrance Project (ORP). Taylor started the ORP in 2018 to help communities unearth stories of injustice and engage in the necessary truth telling and repair required to reconcile instances of historical harm. His work connects historical racism to its present-day legacies in order to inspire contemporary racial justice action.

This event is co-sponsored by The City of Milwaukie Equity & Inclusion Office.