Happy Juneteenth Week!
We are excited to be able to share with you a list of local events and resources, both online and in-person, in celebration of Juneteenth –a day that honors Black freedom and resilience in the United States. Although these are not PICA's programs or initiatives, we are honored to be able to utilize our platform as a vehicle to help share these opportunities, especially those that work to dissolve white supremacist culture in the United States. Please note, the language below is sourced from the links provided. Please follow those links for more information.
A teach-in focused on reparations for the War on Drugs by Movement for Black Lives (M4BL)
June 17
2:00 pm PDT / 5:00 pm ET
Streaming online
This month, in honor of the 100th Anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre, the 2020 Uprisings, the 50th Anniversary of the War on Drugs, and Juneteenth, the Movement for Black Lives is sponsoring a month of activities focusing on reparations for slavery and its afterlives -- convict leasing, police violence, mass incarceration, the war on drugs, segregation, redlining, and environmental racism to name a few -- in the US.
Vend Again Juneteenth Makers Market
June 19
11:00 am–4:00 pm
Honey Latte Cafe: 1033 SE Main St.
Join Vend Again Marketplace for our Juneteenth Makers Market, Saturday, June 19 from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm. We’ll be located in the sweetest spot Honey Latte Cafe on 1033 SE Main St! Good music, food, clothing, jewelry, and more! Come on out and support some of Portland’s most unique makers with us! Vend Again Marketplace is a Black-owned, woman-owned, veteran-owned, and vendor-owned business.
2021 Juneteenth Oregon Celebration produced by PDX Jazz
June 19
1:00 pm PDT / 4:00 pm EDT
Steaming at www.juneteenthor.com or www.pdxjazz.com
Produced by PDX Jazz, the 49th annual Juneteenth Oregon celebration will be live-streamed from the Jack London Revue this year. The event will include performances by Amenta Abioto, Parisalexa, Cool Nutz, and DJ Fatboy, plus special appearances by artist/activist/educator Mic Crenshaw, Governor Kate Brown, and Senator Jeff Merkley.
Celebration of Black Lives with the Big Yard Foundation
June 19
1:00 pm–6:00 pm
Starting at Peninsula Park and ending at King School Park. Speeches, marching, food, music, and more. Come celebrate with us!
The role of this event will be to collectively march through historically Black neighborhoods along Rosa Parks Blvd., Martin Luther King Blvd., and Alberta St. to highlight the issues of gentrification and to unite and glorify the Black and Brown communities that served as the foundation of this region of the city. The focus of this event is to also continue the effort of influencing systematic change for these communities throughout the city, and ultimately, the nation.
Juneteenth BIPOC Youth Skate Hang
June 19
1:30 pm–4:30 pm
Gateway Discovery Park
Join Brown Girl Rise in partnership with Rose City Rollers on June 19th for a BIPOC Skate Hang! Let’s celebrate freedom this Juneteenth with Black and Brown Joy! REGISTRATION REQUIRED! Scan the QR code or click the link below to register!
As always, a meal and snacks will be provided! This event will be physically distanced and masks will be required in order to participate.
Third Eye Books Grand Opening with Special Appearance by Author Tianna Bartoletta
June 20
2:00 pm–4:00 pm
Third Eye Books: 2518 SE 33rd Ave Portland, OR, 97202
Join Third Eye Books, the Pacific Northwest's #1 independent Black-owned bookstore, for their grand opening with a special appearance by Tianna Bartoletta, author of Survive and Advance! Bartoletta has nine global championship medals, three Olympic gold medals, three World Championship Gold Medals, and three World Championship Bronze Medals. Survive and Advance is her memoir...
P.s. you can also preorder the book now from their website!
M4BL Reparations Toolkit
This toolkit explores the long history of struggles for reparations for Black people, lays out key facts, concepts, and international human rights law underlying reparations demands, and provides case studies of struggles for reparations at the institutional, local, state, and international levels. Our goal in creating this toolkit is to provide a foundational definition of what reparations are, to advance our argument that reparations for Black people in the United States are essential, to inform public discussion about reparations, and to support organizers seeking reparations at the local, national, and international level to advance our collective struggles for Black liberation.
Want to Learn More?
---> The Oregon Senate approved making Juneteenth an official state holiday, starting in 2022.
---> Read "So You Want to Learn About Juneteenth?" a New York Times article by Derrick Bryson Taylor.
---> EverOut’s website is a great resource for more Portland-based Juneteenth-week happenings!