PORTLAND — Police say they’re investigating a hate crime in North Portland, where somebody sprayed racist graffiti, death threats and swastikas on a historic lodge with black members.
Officers reported the vandalism Thursday at the Sons of Haiti Grand Lodge, Masonic building along North Mississippi Avenue.
An influx of young white people in recent years has gentrified the neighborhood.
The Oregonian reported the building and a food cart lot are owned by John Bryant. He told the paper the lodge and his mother’s house are the last black-owned properties on the street.
“It seems they want us gone,” he said.
He says he won’t remove the graffiti for a few days, so people can see what was done.
A black-owned food cart was extensively vandalized. Mexican carts were marked with swastikas.
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