The Black Memory Lab
& Black Cultural Library
powered by DSPDX
Our online library catalogue can be viewed here - we highly encourage using this as a tool ahead of your visit. Open hours every 2nd and 4th Saturday: Reserve your spot via Eventbrite!
The foundation of our art & educational programming lies in empowering youth through literature and civic action. We must educate and engage our communities to dismantle discriminative policies and encourage the next generation of leaders!
Memory is a radical act. Storytelling is a powerful form of resistance. At the Black Memory Lab, we affirm the essential role of memory in the survival, flourishing, and liberation of Black communities. In a time of ongoing erasure — when Black history is banned, distorted, or forgotten — we have created a sacred space for preservation, reclamation, and truth-telling. Located in the Center for Social Justice at 510 SW 3rd Avenue in Portland, Oregon, the Black Memory Lab is more than an archive — it is a living, breathing home for the stories, artifacts, and legacies that have shaped generations. The Lab features a fully equipped processing center dedicated to the care and preservation of personal and communal histories, offering vital support to local artists, culture stewards, memory workers, and community archivists. Our rare book collection stands as a testament to Black genius and creativity, featuring first editions by luminaries such as James Baldwin, Nikki Giovanni, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Faith Ringgold, and Jacob Lawrence. These works are not just books; they are vessels of memory, carrying the weight and beauty of our collective past into the future. Through our expanded Liberated Archives programming, we commit to deepening support for Black cultural work, protecting vulnerable histories, and ensuring that our stories — in all their brilliance, pain, and possibility — are never lost or silenced again.
At the Black Memory Lab, memory is honored, stories are safeguarded, and the future is shaped by the truth of who we are.
