The Portland Red Guide: Sites & Stories of Our Radical Past

by Michael Munk

A historical guidebook of social dissent, Michael Munk’s The Portland Red Guide describes local radicals, their organizations, and their activities in relation to physical sites in the Rose City. With the aid of maps and historical photos, Munk’s stories are those that history books often exclude. The historical listings expand readers’ perspectives of the unique city and its radical past. The Portland Red Guide is a testament to Portland’s rich history of working-class people and organizations that stood against repression and injustice. It honors those who insisted on pursuing a better justification for their lives rather than the quest for material wealth, and who dedicated themselves to offering alternative visions of how to organize society.

The Portland Red Guide uses maps to give readers a walking tour of the city as well as to illustrate sites such as the house where Woody Guthrie wrote his Columbia River songs; the office of the Red Squad (the only memorial to John Reed); the home of early feminist Dr. Marie Equi; and the downtown site of Portland’s first Afro-American League protest in 1898. This new edition includes up-to-date information about Portland’s most contemporary radicals and suggests routes to help readers walk in the shadows of dissidents, radicals, and revolutionaries. These stories challenge mainstream culture and testify that many in Portland were, and still are, motivated to improve the condition of the world rather than their personal status in it.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Politics, Travel

253 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2007

Reviews

[Stephanie Griffin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chock-full of information, maps, and historical photos!

[S. Wigget · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Portland Red Guide covers much of Portland’s radical past, particularly that of Socialists, Communists, and working class people who spoke truth to power. It also describes situations in which those in power, whether politicians or police, oppressed people they find threatening. The book is divided into different time periods, from the nineteenth century to the present. It includes Wobblies, doctors who performed abortions, black people harassed by racist cops, Communists and sympathizers attacked by McCarthyism, and so much more.

I would have liked to have seen more on the women’s movement, and neither the Freedom Socialist Party nor its feminist branch Radical Women is ever mentioned. For that matter, Radical Women’s headquarters, The Bread and Roses Center on Killingsworth Street, isn’t included , nor is In Other Words: Women's Books and Resources. (The Latin root for radical is "going to the root," not "extreme.") Yet overall, this is a fascinating and informative book about a side of Portland often overlooked in mainstream history books.

The book includes not only historical and biographical information, but also site listings with exact street addresses and maps, so the reader can take walks around Portland and see locations mentioned in the book. As a Portlander, I found it exciting to read about places I’ve seen or visited numerous times, and to anticipate looking for significant places mentioned in the Red Guide. Both history book and guide book, the Portland Red Guide will have a second, updated edition soon from Ooligan Press.

[August · Rating 4 out of 5]

I live in Portland Oregon, the epicenter of the Left-Coast. Our city's role as the bane of this current (arguably neo-fascist) incarnation of a republican presidential administration has left me proud of where I live. Portland has a long history of sheltering communities of radicals and leftists. Micheal Munk's Portland Red Guide is a tour book of the nooks and crannies haunted by the ghosts of Portland's radical past and tells this story by connecting readers to physical landmarks throughout the city. The Red Guide attempts to upset bias in ways similar to Howard Zinn's A People's History of The United States, by shifting the narrative's focus away from mainstream and capitalist points of view, toward a cityscape that reflects the often forgotten vanguards of social, and political progression.

Six different historical incarnations (Utopians & Marxists, Wobblies & Socialists, Unions & Commies, McCarthyism & Cold War, Peaceniks & Civil Rights, Identities & Protests) of Portland are superimposed in maps provided at the conclusion of each chapter, and laid out in chronological progression: The evidence of each era buried under the sedimentary layers of infrastructure and industrial development. Whether it's to identify the 1977 home of former Trail Blazers star Bill Walton who was under scrutiny from Portland's "Red Squad," for "associating with radicals," and protesting the war in Vietnam, or the spot where, the famous activist, Emma Goldman was arrested by Portland police in 1915, a reader can choose a chapter and explore their own geographical relationship to this "weird" city's radical past. Under the "How To Use / The Portland Red Guide" section of the forward, Munk sums up his intentions in writing this unusual book: "By linking our radical history to physical sites, I hope to bring back to life and recognition the radical and dissenting history of Portlanders - even if the physical evidence of their life and times no longer exist." If you're born and raised in The Rose City, or just taking a vacation, The Portland Red Guide can lend insights into how this city gets its fierce reputation; a reputation that, I for one, am proud of.

[Dustin Prisley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like many of those who migrate to Portland like moths to something of an odd flame, I am inclined to the political left. My Marxist bona-fides notwithstanding, I am a dabbler in history and the history of leftist movements in particular. If you are a regular listener to Dave Anthony and Garreth Reynold’s The Dollop, you will no doubt have developed a taste, as I have, for the, often bizarre, turns which the lives of revolutionary thinkers tend to take. If you listen to the aforementioned podcast, you have also likely heard the history of perambulation as a pastime. At the risk of limiting the audience of this book on my recommendation, I will confess to being both an amateur historian and a consummate walker. If you are like me, and I suspect you must be to have read so far, then I cannot recommend Munk’s guide to the radical history of this fair city (the one in Oregon, not the brunchy burb in Maine) enough. Complete with maps, recommended tours, black and white photographs throughout, and clearly signposted cross-references for those prone to Wikipedia dives, Munk offers a guide which is at once un-put-downable and suitable for brief consultation when one finds oneself wanting to know more about what the Wobblies have to do with the White Eagle Saloon (now owned by McMenamins) or about the chronicling of Oregon’s Hoovervilles and slums by the famed photographer Dorothea Lange. Munk writes with authority and invitationally, welcoming you to take a walk and breathe in a bit of the leftist history of this fine city, a practice that becomes only the more important as the forces of white nationalism and so-called Conservatism seek foothold in a place where they are assuredly not welcome. Beware this book, however, you readers of the world, if you aren’t keen to lose your chains.

[Brennah · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Portland Red Guide is a perfect read for those looking to learn more about the connection of Portland’s radical history to physical sites. The author does an amazing job at exploring the past history of Portland, Oregon by telling stories and discussing sites of radicalism through several different time periods, rather than simply inputting historical images. With sources from the Portland Police Bureau and the infamous Red Squad, this book is a great testament to records of hostile spying radicals, civil rights, and peace activists from Portland 1920s to the 40s.

While reading through The Portland Red Guide, I found it really interesting that the author wanted to stir up history from the stories instead of the structures of buildings. He explains that many of the sites he discusses, which is true in the illustrations, that readers won’t be fascinated by what’s pictured, but will be intrigued by the history itself. There were so many recollections of past poets, authors, and editors that made changes in society through their works, as well as tales of historical sites. One that caught my attention described what was once the White Eagle Saloon, now owned by McMenamins, held a Polish Progress Group upon its opening. Rumors spread that it was hosting meetings for plans to assassinate William Howard Taft. Falsely accused, the Portland Police Bureau felt that was enough to shut the establishment down immediately!

Historical stories such as this are what make The Portland Red Guide such an intriguing read. Would highly recommend!

[Jasmine Gower · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Portland Red Guide is set up as sort of 2 books in one: a tour guide book the highlights key landmarks in the city related to its theme of Portland's history with leftist activism (complete with maps), and a history book on the same topic divided into concise but informative bite-sized pieces, organized into small paragraphs or sections highlighting an important individual, organization, establishment, or event in Portland's red history. Each of these sections is numbered and attached to a related landmark which is marked on the map at the end of each chapter, although the book notes that a number of these landmarks no longer exist in their original forms or cannot be accessed by the public.

I read this as a history book rather than as a guidebook, so I can't speak to its success as a useful tool in touring the city, but it is a striking and profound look into Portland's history with labor unions, socialism, anti-racist activism (and the racist atrocities that spurred them), women's rights, and anti-fascism. As mentioned, the historical recountings are divided into specific subjects which are individually given a paragraph or two of explanation as to their relevance to Portland's left, and these passages are written with passion and investment while still striking an informative, almost academic tone. The writing is engaging and the history is captivating, and the way the book is divided into small passages makes it easy to read in small bursts without getting information overload. While there are some obvious editing and formatting issues with the book, a few technical bumps doesn't detract much from the interesting history on this tragically underrepresented topic that will leave you eager to go out and learn more about Portland's past and present with leftist movements.

Given its focus on labor, anti-fascism, and anti-racism movements in Portland's history, The Portland Red Guide is a very timely examination of the city's relationship to the oppressive forces of capitalism.

[Riley Pittenger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full disclosure, I am a graduate student at the student-run publisher of this book. That being said, I really enjoyed giving this simultaneously uplifting and depressing guide to the city. The book breaks down the social movements behind workers' and civil rights struggles throughout Portland's history with markers on the city map. As a relatively new fellow in Portland, reading this alternate history to that written by the wealthier of the city's historic residents cemented a sense of place for me in a city that enjoys a more liberal reputation than the author, and now myself would give it. Though these stories often end with the incremental and hard won victories of the underrepresented stacking up short to those of the established, the ideas and movements behind the socialists of Portland endure through today. The overall tone of the book is one of duty and community strength that emphasizes the spirit of a better city for all its' citizens. I would recommend this guide to anyone seeking to learn the history of many forgotten Portlanders.

[Thomas Spölhof · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michael Munk's The Portland Red Guide takes the reader on a journey of the misunderstood and underrepresented in Portland history. Though I've lived in Portland almost five years now, the history behind the fervent political activism here had remained a mystery. Munk's collective survey brings depth and color to the background. With well-constructed maps and guided walking tours, the reader can continue their research and see for themselves the locations of historic events, strikes, and historic buildings. If you're in Portland, next time you walk through the park blocks, remain cognizant of 1970's Battle of the Park Blocks. The book makes for interesting reading, to say the least. I highly recommend The Portland Red Guide.

[Christopher Leal · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a unique book specifically made for inquiring Portlanders!

Ooligan Press, the wonderful student-run press continues to produce regionally significant works in many different genres. This particular guidebook combines the rich history of activism in the Pacific Northwest while highlighting landmarks and locations hidden to the average adventurer. The issues brought up in the included stories and vignettes shed light on the underrepresented, giving voice to those who are often overlook or overtly suppressed. Michael Munk deftly provides the timely resources we need to this day. The included graphics are beautifully presented and include maps and photos to aid in locating specific landmarks. This is certainly worth a purchase!

[Brittney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've become especially interested in PDX history over the last few years and this guide did not disappoint. Seeing how one movement was a precursor to another movement. I found information about individuals in these movements who seemed to push even beyond their own limits to work toward the ideas they believed in.

I'm especially looking forward to getting outside to do some of the walking tours and experiencing more of this history in the areas it took place.

[Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an Oregon historical society book club choice. Munk was there to discuss it with us. This is the history that isn't written in the main books. His choice of setting it by location so one could actually walk to the areas where these things happened was inspired. Anyone who lives in Portland or plans to visit would enjoy this work.

[Britt-Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boring in the way you'd expect an encyclopedic rendering to be. Some of the individual entries were quite interesting though.

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

While The Portland Red Guide functions like a travel guide it reads more like a history book of social dissent. I almost want to call it a “people’s history” of the city of Portland, but comparing it to Zinn’s work is a stretch. What the book does best is provide a timeline for socialist and communist activities in this city, highlighting events and individuals who have been ignored by the conformist and counterrevolutionary historians. The book surprisingly opens up Portland’s history, making it appear not as boring as John Reed made it out to be.

The book is divided into chapters that cover specific eras, and each chapter has its own group of maps and photos that are supposed to function like a walking tour of Portland. One of my complaints about this book is that the photos and maps can often be confusing. I wish there would have been a more direct way to identify where a certain picture was (like a page number), rather than just including the photo icon by the entry. I also had a hard time finding numbers on the maps. Perhaps it would have been better if the text, photos, and maps were more intertwined?

The book itself is quite valuable, and while it includes the prominent figures and their relations to Portland (such Emma Goldman, Woody Guthrie, Joe Hill, the Black Panthers, the IWW, and so on) it often touches on obscure facts. One of the most surprising entries for me was for the “Battle of the Park Blocks,” a conflict that occurred in May 1970 between Police and anti-war activists in the Park Blocks near Portland State. The brief entry on the 1993 anarchist riot that occurred outside of the famed X-Ray Café was also a pleasant surprise. Yet, my biggest complaint about the book is that it only seems to skim over the anarchist and feminist histories, heavily favoring the socialist and communists ones.

[Trey Stockard · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Portland Red Guide is “a modest start toward a more respectful public understanding and rehabilitation of a neglected part of Portland’s common heritage.” Ph.D. in Political Science Michael Munk compiles an alternative history to the one commemorated on local street signs, buildings, neighborhood names and park benches exalting the dynasties of fur impresarios, land grabbers, timber barons and industry magnates.
Munk details the Portland area’s radical past, from 19th century “Utopians and Marxists”, to “Wobblies and Socialists” (1900-1930), “Unions and Commies” (1930s), “McCarthyism and Cold War” (WWII-1960), “Peaceniks and Civil Rights” (1960 -1973), on up to the state of “Identities and Protests” movements circa 2010.

As the chapter titles suggest, there is a good deal of overlap between the radical movements of one era and the next -- one of the most interesting features of the guide is its ability to trace the connection between, say, the Progressive Party’s 1948 “Bachelors for Wallace” campaign (organized, no less, by a communist) and the Mattachine Society for gay rights.

The Portland Red Guide effectively presents an alternate version of far right wing history as well, as Munk chronicles the establishment’s opposition to radicalism. One of Munk’s best resources for radical history, he reports, was the files of the Portland Police Bureau’s notoriously underhanded Red Squad.
Despite some technical flaws, The Portland Red Guide is an important effort that seeks to ask who gets to write our history, “Who Gets to Name?”. Every city should have one. For, as Munk invokes, “Until the lions have their historians, tales of hunting will always glorify the hunter - African Proverb.”

[Katey Trnka · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first arrived in Portland about five years ago, people who'd been here longer spoke at length about how fast—and how much—the city was changing. I didn't notice it so much until a couple of years ago, when the big-city crustiness started to recede to the edges. With that recession, many—including myself—worry that the city's unique, not-always-rosy history might get lost in the shuffle of yoga studios and broth bars.

But I digress. What I love about Munk's book is that it provides those who may only have a pop culture-based understanding of Portland with the rich history that still fuels the political activism in the city. Portland may catch some heat for being too curated these days, but an active citizenry is still a hallmark of this city. To see the roots for today's activists laid out in an easy-to-follow, chronological retelling is refreshing, informative, and inspiring for those who wax poetic about "old" Portland.

[Kyra · Rating 4 out of 5]

For those interested in learning more about Portland's rich, radical history, whether a Portlander or a visitor, pick up Michael Munk's The Portland Red Guide. Not only does it offer readers a rich, comprehensive examination of historical events that took place in Portland, but it also provides photos and maps to help give the reader a visual. The book is designed so that sites mentioned are colored in red and are marked on maps, making them easy to follow. As an added bonus, there are four detailed walking tours at the end of the book allowing readers to wander around Portland and experience the history themselves. The walking tours are (mostly) under one mile, making them easy for anyone.

[Margaret Henry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michael Munk’s field book, The Portland Red Guide, reminds me of Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States. Both books are chock full of moments when you realize the historical stories you’ve been told don’t include everyone. I frequently read nonfiction and often read historical books, and Munk’s title is right up there with the best of them. Plus, The Portland Red Guide is written as a sort of field guide, so you can travel throughout Portland, walking in the footsteps of the radicals who helped to shape the city. It’s a book anyone with even a moderate interest in Portland will enjoy thumbing through, while history buffs will want to sit down and devour the whole thing.

[Lulu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rather difficult to wade through owing, I think, in part, due to the chunking of information, people’s and places with very little sense of flow. Many peoples and places could/should have included pictures and /or the address and current location.
Really very shocking though not really surprising to read of the violence and utter lack of acceptance of racial minorities or organizations not deemed mainstream dating back to this city & state’s very beginnings and continuing on to present day in some arenas. Would have been helpful to link the walking tours with chapter and page numbers where these locations were made significant.

[Micah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Munk's history and discussion of Portland was a good starting off point. At times it felt more like a zine that someone I knew wrote, instead of a comprehensive guide to the radical times and history in Portland. The author adds an ending note of 'if I missed something, sorry! There's, like, a lot of history!" but I was still confused why some things were put in and not others. I suppose I also just needed a bigger overall picture of Portland's story before I dug in with the radical retellings of if.

[luv4pez · Rating 3 out of 5]

History is fascinating, but this look at Portland's "radical" history didn't exactly hold my interest. The constant entries about demonstrations and strikes became a little tedious. That being said, the book is intended as a sort of travel guide to show you the different places in Portland where these radical events took place. The interior is very well designed with good maps and interesting pictures. There were a couple of very blatant typos that any copy editor should have fixed before this was printed.

The book is well done, even if the topic isn't my cup of tea.

[Melina]

Munk’s book explores the history of forgotten radicals who helped shape the city and it’s culture. I learned so much about the social movements that happened in Portland and the city’s subculture. Having recently moved to Portland I thought this book was great as an introduction to city’s culture and how it has evolved over the years. And because it’s written as a field guide for Portland with photos and maps, you can follow those very footsteps. This book is great for history buffs but also for anyone interested in learning more about the unique history and culture of Portland.

[Sabrina]

Is your house down the block from WW-1 resisters' headquarters? Did a worker's strike take over your office building in 1970? Was your neighborhood where all the Wobblies lived? These questions and more are answered by the Portland Red Guide.

The book's dedication reads "To those who worked for a better world rather than their own place in the present one."

What are you doing to get your house on the map for the 2050 edition!?

[Terri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. I learned an incredible amount of the history of social movements in Portland from this book...union organizing, secret police squads, Black Panther connections, and tons more. The book includes maps of historical buildings and sites, tons of historical photos, and is well researched. I'm looking forward to doing my own 'Portland red walking tour' sometime soon.

[Carye Bye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic reference and jumping off point to learn a lessor known history. It's no easy task to condense information in understandable pieces. I love the map-location portion, the best way to read this book is out and about. I learned a lot and really appreciate this "retirement book" by Michael Munk.

[Kenneth · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting subbaculture history bits from Stumptown's edgy political underbelly. I really liked the maps and photos. If one was seriously into our "little Beirut" past, they could take a tour now of all the important sites. Lots of obscure factoids even for you non-rabble rousers.

[Bean · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you live in Portland, READ IT!!

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Where are the Portland suffragists and feminists?

[Pj Zettle]

Portland is a city with a checkered history of both progressive and conservative politics. The Portland Red Guide does a great job of not only highlighting the individuals throughout the 20th century who have fought to make changes in the realm of labor and discriminatory politics, but it also very clearly shows the shortcomings of Portland political history compared to other cities. Reckoning with Portland's racist, sexist, and classist past is an essential part of building an inclusive, diverse, and accepting community in Portland today, and The Portland Red Guide very clearly lays out the dilemmas of the past. In order to make a better today, we must learn from history in the most material sense.
The Portland Red Guide also does a fantastic job of providing a sense of tangible geography to the events of the past. Readers can visit the sites of protests and riots, speeches and debates, and previous residences of historical figures by following the maps provided in the book. When readers do this, no doubt they will be able to see the different ways in which the city has changed. Class struggles and urban development go hand-in-hand, and The Portland Red Guide provides a unique opportunity for readers to visualize this connection in material form.
By no means is this a work of academic, jargon-filled theory, but it does very clearly take great stock in the activist movement that has gone hand in hand with theoretical developments throughout the century. It is a beautifully laid out book that certainly can be read cover to cover but is probably best sifted through in a leisurely, fragmented manner. Definitely a must-read for Portland locals and those interested in localized radical movements!