Ed Washington doesn’t consider himself a pioneer. But his biography tells a different story. He was the first Black Boy Scout in his troop. One of two Black students in his class at Irvington School in the 1950s. The first in his family to earn a college degree. The first Black Metro Councilor. Among the first to work in diversity and inclusion at Portland State — a role he’s held in one form or another since 1993. He credits his life’s work with his greatest strength: connecting with people.
“It just comes very natural to me,” Washington says. “I think it’s what my life is all about.”
Sometimes that means connecting students with educational opportunities at PSU or sharing stories with the Vanport Mosaic, a nonprofit dedicated to memory-activism. Other times, it’s as simple as chatting every morning at his neighborhood coffee shop, or just providing an outlet for people to feel seen and heard.
Although filled with twists and turns, Washington’s journey to PSU was all but inevitable — his mastery of relationships perfectly complemented the university's mission to be a force for systemic change.
A Life Built on Connection
Born in Birmingham, Ala. in 1937, Washington has lived in Portland since 1944 when his family relocated to the city of Vanport.
“Mother Dear said that she always worried about raising us in Birmingham — five African American boys — and I know that if we had stayed there, I would have been right out there on the front line (of the Civil Rights Movement) with John Lewis and everybody else,” Washington says. “But that was not what was in store for me.”
Just four years after the family settled in Vanport, a then 10-year-old Washington joined more than 18,000 residents displaced by the Vanport flood on May 30, 1948. His family moved from place to place for the next two years before finally settling in 1950 near Northeast Portland’s Irving Park.
Despite the struggles facing Washington, his siblings and his community, Washington credits his mother, her intelligence and her commitment to family as his source of strength and motivation.
“I think my mom recognized that probably my strongest strength was my ability to communicate and deal with people, because she always said, ‘Eddie can talk to anyone,’” Washington recalls.
At 13, he was presented with a life-changing opportunity to join the second national Boy Scout Jamboree in Valley Forge, Penn. It required saving half of his $10 biweekly paycheck for months, but the sacrifice was worth it. He took a train, passing through North and South Dakota; Cincinnati, Ohio.; Chicago, Ill; and Pittsburgh, Penn. before a week of camping in Valley Forge among 50,000 other boy scouts from across the country and representatives from eight other countries.
“That trip really sealed it for me,” he says, speaking to the self-realization of his personal strengths. “I tried to do other things, but I was always brought back to really, what's my strength? And my strength is relating to people.”
A Pioneer’s Path
Washington’s interest in change-making only grew from there. In 1965, he joined the Portland chapter of the National Association of the Advancement for Colored People (NAACP) and served on a committee that ended discriminatory hiring practices at local grocery stores like Fred Meyer, Albertson’s and Safeway. He later served as president of the Portland chapter. That was only the beginning of his civic journey.
Washington served as the first Black Councilor on the Metro Council for 10 years (1991-2001), focused on improving equity and quality of life in the community. He still considers his work on Metro’s 2030 Regional Waste Plan, aiming to protect natural resources and provide equitable access to services, one of his greatest accomplishments.
He was also a member of the volunteer-run Urban Forestry Commission (UFC) from 1998-2006, which advises the city on managing and improving Portland's urban forest infrastructure.
My strengths have carried me from my days in Boy Scouts all the way to this point. And now at 88 years of age, honestly, the time has gone by so fast.
Washington’s advocacy work for inclusion and equity earned him numerous accolades, including the Spirit of Portland Award and the Nohad A. Toulan Urban Pioneer Award for Public Service, both awarded in 2018.
“My strengths have carried me from my days in Boy Scouts all the way to this point,” Washington says. “And now at 88 years of age, honestly, the time has gone by so fast.”
Coming Home
Although Washington’s most recent title was director of Outreach & Community Engagement in Global Diversity and Inclusion at PSU, his first introduction to the institution was as a child living in Vanport, where a YMCA program led by a young Black man provided opportunities for Black children to learn more about pathways to education.
“He said, ‘Because (Vanport Extension Center) is in your city now, you'll have a place to go to school,’” Washington recalls. “We had no idea that the city would be destroyed in the next year. And with it the school.”
By 1957, Washington started night classes at the relocated Vanport Extension Center, known then as Portland State College, held in the Parkmill Building. He earned a degree in Liberal Studies in 1974.
“I would have never gotten an education had it not been for Portland State,” he says.
Nearly 20 years later, Washington was invited to “come home” to Portland State by President Judith Ramaley.
“When I arrived in Portland in 1990, I had to dive quickly into getting to know the culture of the university and our connections with the people who were shaping our region then,” Ramaley says. “I was new to Portland, new to Oregon and new to the deep culture and shared hopes of Portland State that connected us to the region and its people. Shortly after I got here, I asked for help in finding a community member with good connections to diverse communities in our region.”
She was introduced to Washington.
“I realized at once that he would be a remarkable ambassador for PSU as well as a guide for me as I began to learn a new place in a changing time,” she adds. “He was an eye witness to the story of ‘the college that would not die’ in the aftermath of the Vanport flood. He also offered a generous and engaging way to help me get to know many people in the community who worked with us to ‘Let Knowledge Serve the City.”’
In 1993, two years into his term on the Metro Council, Washington started at PSU tasked with initiating diversity, equity and inclusion efforts on behalf of the university. He continued that work with President Daniel Bernstine, PSU’s first Black president, in 1997 and for the next 32 years until Washington retired in November 2025.
“I've done so many different things here, I feel so honored,” he says. “I'm just grateful to have been allowed to be able to practice my skills through and with the help of this university.”
Enduring Legacy
Washington is leaving behind a legacy not only of his contributions to PSU, but of PSU’s origin.
His efforts to codify Vanport’s legacy began in earnest following a 1998 feature in the Oregonian marking the 50th anniversary of the Vanport flood. Sharing his experience as part of the article provided a platform for Washington to slowly build on.
“I was able to transition that into meeting people from Portland State University and making sure that they knew about Vanport,” he says.
Fast forward to 2018 and a new capital project at PSU to construct a building to house the College of Education, OHSU-PSU School of Public Health, Portland Community College’s dental programs and the City of Portland's Bureau of Planning & Sustainability. The new building marked an opportunity for Washington to advocate that the building be named in honor of PSU’s birthplace. Like many of Washington’s advocacy efforts, he was successful. When the building opened in 2021, it was named the Vanport Building.
In many ways, the naming of the Vanport Building is also a recognition of decades of Washington’s work in community engagement.
“I am just overwhelmed when I look back on my time here and all the bits and pieces that I've had the opportunity to work on,” he says. “I can see the benefit of that work, not just because of me, but the fact that this university made it available for me to be one of many members to outreach to our communities. You're seeing the results of all of that today, and that is what makes me feel so good about this place.”
Looking back on his decades of work is challenging, but ever humble, Washington says simply: “I hope that people know that I did the best that I could.”
Don’t Let Nobody Turn You Around
Washington will tell you he doesn’t know where the time went, but now that he’s 88 years old, it’s probably time to retire. Travel may be in his future, with plans for a riverboat cruise, maybe a trip to the Netherlands. Perhaps Japan to visit old friends. Even with the world in front of him, it’s clear Portland State will forever be on Washington’s mind.
“I think that Portland State's place in this city and in this community has been unbelievable, and sometimes I think it gets overlooked,” he says.
But the work must also continue, he adds. Especially in the current political environment, embracing community is more important than ever.
“Get to know your community and involve yourself with those members of our communities that don't always get called on,” Washington says. “If you're really going to be a good diversity disciple — you've got to act diverse. You've got to just reach out.”
The consistent, difficult work of showing up and reaching out requires more than just initial enthusiasm — it demands perseverance. The good news? The reality we seek isn’t a distant destination, but something we can create right now, Washington says.
“Stay the course. Don’t let nobody turn you around,” he says. “The Promised Land is right here, right here where we're standing.”