Marie Smith (1898–1991) was an activist in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

. She was one of the founders of the Oregon Association of Colored Women's Clubs, and was the first female president of the Portland Chapter of the

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. ...

Biography

Smith was born in Paris, Texas, in 1898, and moved to Toppenish, Washington, in 1910 to live with her father. Her grandfathers were both slaves and her father was a railway depot janitor, baggageman, and mailman in Toppenish. She married Elwood Smith on July 5, 1917 in

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Canada ...

, and they moved to Portland a few weeks later. When Marie Smith and her husband moved from their southeast

Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...

home to a white neighborhood in northeast Portland, they faced housing discrimination from their neighbors who signed a petition requesting them to leave.

Activism

Smith and her husband moved to Portland in 1917. Elwood Smith was a

Pullman porter Pullman porters were men hired to work for the railroads as porters on sleeping cars. Starting shortly after the American Civil War, George Pullman sought out former slaves to work on his sleeper cars. Their job was to carry passengers’ bagga ...

, earning $60 a month, which allowed Marie to be politically active. She was a member of the Model Cities Task Force,

Urban League of Portland The Urban League of Portland is a service, civil rights, and advocacy organization for African Americans in the Pacific Northwest region. Today, the League is a non-profit, community-based organization committed to providing opportunities and suppo ...

, and Interracial Fellowship, member of the Interracial Relations Committee organized by Portland City Leadership. She was one of the founders of the Oregon Association of Colored Women's Clubs and became the first female president of the Portland Chapter of the

(serving from 1949–1950). Smith began work with the

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...

Portland branch soon after arriving in Portland and became the first African American woman to join the Board of Directors. She was also present at the signing of the Oregon Civil Rights Bill in 1953. She was the first woman to receive a Metropolitan Human Relations Commission Russell Peyton Award and was named Portland's First Negro Citizen of the Year in 1950. In 1976, Portland Mayor Neil Goldschmidt named a "Marie Smith Day." She was also president of the Portland Literary Research Club. Smith died in Portland on June 18, 1991.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Marie 1898 births 1991 deaths 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people African-American activists