Kathryn Hall Bogle

Born December 24, 1906 in the Oklahoma Territory, she lived in Kansas City before coming to the Pacific Northwest with her mother (Lillian Finley Hall[2]), finally settling in Portland where she graduated from Washington High School.[1]

Bogle was denied employment at many locations in Portland, including a telephone company, light company, and power company; she was also denied employment as an elevator operator and as office help.[3] She faced discrimination in academia and was refused admissions to all the business schools in Portland, Oregon;[4] upon visiting Behnke-Walker Business College, she was told she could not register because of her race.[3] Bogle notes that, at the time, "We found that no Portland hospital will accept the application of a Negro girl for nurse training; there are no Negroes in the employ of the state of Oregon; Negros have not one representative in the clerical departments of the city."[3] Eventually she found employment at the department store of Meier and Frank in the beauty shop.[3]

In 1927, Kathryn Baker married Richard Bogle, a student studying pharmacy at Oregon Agricultural College (Now Oregon State University).[5] After facing multiple "obstacles" Richard Bogle dropped out and worked as a bellman in the Portland Hotel.[6] They resided on Southeast Tibbetts Street and raised their two children, Richard (better known as "Dick") and Linda.[7]

Bogle was the first Black journalist to be paid for an article in the Portland newspaper, the Oregonian.[1] She was a freelance journalist because she could not find employment as a full-time journalist in Oregon.[8] She wrote articles for many black newspapers including the Pittsburgh Courier, the Northwest Enterprise in Seattle, the Portland Observer, the Portland Skanner,[8] and the Portland Challenger.[9] "An American Negro Speaks of Color," Bogle's best-known article, was sold to the Oregonian in 1937.[10][11][12] Kathryn's article described her personal experiences growing up in Portland, Oregon including the difficulties of being black in Oregon with a focus on education and employment.[12] Along with her career as a journalist, Bogle also worked as a social worker for seventeen years with the Boys and Girls Aid Society.[13] For seven years she worked as a caseworker at Good Samaritan Hospital & Medical Center, and in 1948, she assisted victims who were displaced by the Vanport flood.[14]

• Oral history interview with Kathryn and Richard Bogle, Sr. 1976
• Oral history interviews with Kathryn Hall Bogle, 1985-1986