June events, a new episode of Life After the Bubble, and other ways to get involved with RtR
June 16: LO’s Juneteenth Event
Tell your friends and bring your families to Juneteenth next Sunday! Juneteenth will take place on Sunday June 16 from 11am until 2pm.
According to the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Juneteenth commemorates when on June 19, 1865 Union troops freed enslaved Black Americans in Galveston Bay and across Texas. This was nearly two and a half years after the
signing of the Emancipation Proclamation by President Lincoln. What is less well-known, however, is that the Emancipation Proclamation was not a call for the end of slavery by a radical, anti-racist Republican president, but merely a tactical military executive order for populations in states that seceded. Yes, the Emancipation Proclamation “freed” only enslaved people in Confederate States, since Lincoln hoped escaped slaves would join the Union army in order to receive legal
freedom after the Civil war. So as ironic as that is, maintaining the enslavement of all the people in Union states such as Maryland, Delaware, Kentucky, and Missouri hinged upon enslaved peoples in Confederate states escaping and fighting for the Union army… to preserve the capitalist slavocracy. There is much more to be said about Abraham Lincoln and his lionization in history classrooms despite having horrible ideas about racial justice (like shipping off all Black people in the U.S. to what is now Liberia to start a colony).
Hopefully (un)learning this history can allow us to refocus our intentions for celebrating Juneteenth on not the questionable morality of one white man, or even the U.S. military enacting his will, but rather upon the history of
resilience among Black communities. At the heart of all major liberation movements, from Pride to labor rights to climate change are Black leaders, of whom the loudest are often the most marginalized members as disabled, queer, fat, poor, crazy, and indigenous femmes. At our local event on Saturday, we’ll take time to learn, discuss, and celebrate Black history and the radical leaps towards freedom despite our white supremacist government and world.
Respond to Racism is proud
to announce we’re sponsoring Pride LO and Juneteenth events, so be sure to stop by our booth and say hi! Thanks to folks like you for your continued support of RtR and local events for marginalized people of the Global Majority. As always, if you’re able to, please donate to RtR so we can continue to support these local efforts.
In this episode, David and Bruce discuss what the 90s and early 2000s were like in Lake Oswego as boys of color and and their thoughts on the present and future of growing up racialized in LO.
About Life After the Bubble: This series seeks to spotlight the experiences of alumni and former students of color from Lake
Oswego schools. "Life After the Bubble" will feature interviews from various students, each sharing distinct cultural experiences and reflections from their time in LO. The objective is not just to provoke thought, but to inspire our community to adjust our racial justice approach, making it more inclusive and centered around LO’s communities of color.
Become an RtR Board Member
We’re looking for new board members! We’re seeking proactive, justice-minded individuals to educate and empower LO residents with the tools to dismantle racism and make our community a safe, welcome place for all. If you’re unsure of if you’re the right person for the job, just remember we are all experts of our own experience, and we’re stronger with a diversity of tactics, alongside
thoughts, abilities, beliefs, and identities. For more information for becoming an RtR Board Member, visit this application!
If being a board member doesn’t sound like something to best utilize your unique skill-set, expertise, and insight, don’t worry! We’ll be adding other ways to get involved with RtR soon on our new
Opportunities page below: https://respondtoracism.org/opportunities/. We’re excited to walk this journey with you, as we need many roles from educators to artists, writers to facilitators.
If you don’t yet know your role(s) in organizing social change, I would recommend referencing this ecosystem map created by Deepa Iyer and the Building Movement Project!
June 29: Unite Oregon Action Summit
On June 29th, Unite Oregon will be hosting a summit called Strengthening Oregon's Intercultural Movement for Justice. According to their website, “Unite Oregon is a membership organization led by people of color, immigrants and refugees, rural communities, and people experiencing poverty. We work across Oregon to build a unified, intercultural movement for
justice.”
RtR will be hosting a workshop at the Action Summit, so we’ll see you there!
Unite Oregon’s work is inspired, informed, shaped, and led by
Immigrant, Refugee, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color communities across Oregon. Every year, each of our chapters comes convenes our leadership councils and community leaders from across the state as part of our commitment to grassroots policy change. Each chapter will have a different location and we will all join together virtually throughout the summit. There will also be an option to participate online if you are unable to attend in person. Meals, childcare, and interpretation (per
request), provided!
At this year's summit you can expect to:
Learn more about Unite 6 Pillar areas
Hear about how last year's summit voting created our 2024 Action Agenda, turning into local and legislative campaigns
Meet and organize with other community leaders from your Chapter
Participate in workshops to build skills in Community Organizing, providing testimony, and more
