Juneteenth is June 19, and so are Eugene’s Juneteenth celebrations! The federal holiday commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African American people and celebrates Black culture. Head over to Alton Baker Park Sunday from noon to 7 pm and experience music, speakers, a kid zone and host (and drag queen extraordinaire) Cornel Hardiman. Speakers include consultant, writer and storyteller Dr. Johnny Lake and community organizer and journalist Kokayi Nosakhere. Music by DJ Smuve, Ratie D and more. For more information and a full list of events go to JuneteenthEugene.com. Also on Sunday, preceded by a 9 am to 11 am COVID vaccine clinic, is a Juneteenth Celebration at Glamour Girl, 125 W Broadway, featuring 2021 American Idol runner up Willie Spence. The event kicks off at 1 pm and is free, but space is limited. Masks required.
• The March for Our Lives Saturday, June 11, drew hundreds of people to the federal courthouse in Eugene demanding an end to gun violence. Here in Oregon we’ve seen the deaths at Thurston High School and Umpqua Community College as well as the six people shot and injured at the WOW Hall in January, to name only a few mass shootings. And just this month a person died in a suspected suicide at the Northwest Arsenal indoor shooting range. Enough has long been enough, and with so many deaths and so many guns in America, at some point “gun safety” becomes an oxymoron.
• What we’re watching: For fans of comedy and free speech, make sure you stream HBO’s two-part four-hour documentary on George Carlin. In George Carlin’s American Dream, directors Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio delve into the legendary comedian’s life and life’s work in comedy, a man who was unafraid to hold back punches on the U.S.’s left and right ideologies. Sadly, his comedy is still relatable for today’s politics: “If you’re preborn, you’re fine. If you’re preschool, you’re fucked.” As we tensely await the Supreme Court’s actual verdict when it comes to reversing Roe v. Wade, the documentary reminds us that the funnyman’s words (the seven dirty ones) led to the Supreme Court’s FCC v. Pacifica decision limiting the hours when expletives can be said on TV or radio. Please note that as a newspaper, that decision doesn’t affect us, so if we want to say, “Fuck overturning Roe v. Wade” in these pages, we can do that.
A month after Oregon men and women swept the Pac-12 track and field championships, they came out dry at a rainy Hayward Field for the NCAA championships June 8 to 11. Oregon women were 11th and the men 25th. It’s a sad result for a team that was recently stacked with talent, some of whom (Cole Hocker, for example, signed with Nike) opted for the pros. For you track and field fanatics, there will be two more events coming up: The Nike Outdoor Nationals are June 16 to 19 and the USATF Championships June 23 to 26.
• “War in the Ukraine: Causes and Effects” is the City Club of Eugene topic noon June 17 in the First United Methodist Church, 1376 Olive Street. Speakers are Julie Hessler, UO associate professor of history; Keith Eddins, retired diplomat and University of Oregon adjunct professor; and Christoph Rass, UO visiting professor. Live streaming is an option. Lunch will not be served.
• If you’re feeling a sense of hopelessness with headlines that scream violence — from war in Ukraine to mass shootings in the U.S. — the Palmo Center’s annual Eugene Peace Run at Alton Baker Park June 18 offers a chance for runners and walkers, children and adults to quiet the storm — for a morning, at least. In addition to the 5k or 10k run/walk, there will be activities for children at the Kids Peace Place under the main pavilion in the park. Children can make prayer flags, learn mindfulness techniques and build a community mandala with recycled bottle caps from BRING Recycling. More information can be found in this week’s EW Extra Tuesday email newsletter. Subscribe at EugeneWeekly.com/newsletter.
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