Oregon Remembrance Project will share stories of community action in Southern Oregon
By Meg Wade for Ashland.news
Staff from the Oregon Remembrance Project and Grants Pass Remembrance will discuss the legacy of Alonzo Tucker, a 1902 Coos Bay lynching victim, at an event that will run 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday, May 8, at Southern Oregon University’s Meese Auditorium in the Art Building, 1250 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland.
The program, “How Do You Reconcile a Lynching? A Story of Justice and Redemption,” will cover the Oregon Remembrance Project’s work erecting a historical marker in Coos Bay in 2021, intended to honor Tucker as part of the city’s first-ever Juneteenth celebration.
Oregon Remembrance Project (ORP) founder Taylor Stewart and Grants Pass Remembrance founder Gabrielle Johnsen will discuss this work in a conversation hosted by the Ashland Sunrise Project.
Stewart has spoken about this story at events throughout the state, including an appearance at TEDx Portland.
“This story is not just about reconciliation; it’s about finding a way to heal and foster hope in our communities,” Stewart said. “By confronting these painful narratives, we can begin to foster understanding and pave the way for a more just future.”
While the death of Tucker is the best documented case of lynching in Oregon, there were multiple non-fatal lynchings and threats of lynchings in Jackson County in the early 20th century, as the Oregon Historical Society has written about in their Oregon History Project.
“It’s important for people in Ashland, people in Oregon, to understand Oregon’s history. Same as it’s important to understand this particular lynching … it helps understand what’s going on today, and it gives us a sense of what we need to do today to make Ashland more welcoming,” said Taylor Tamsin of the Ashland Sunrise Project, describing why the group is hosting the event.
The Ashland Sunrise Project (ASP), an initiative of ORP and Ashland Together, strives to address Ashland’s history as a sundown town — towns known for intimidation and exclusion of African Americans and other people of color, who often prohibited free movement of such groups “after sundown” — with the aspiration to help it form a new identity as a “sunrise community,” in which “in which everyone can feel safe, respected, and like they can call this space their home.”
The group is at work on a series of participatory events for September where community members can come together and brainstorm and discuss ways to make Ashland more inclusive.
“What we hope people will do is be very specific about things we need to do in Ashland to make it more welcoming,” said Taylor.
Some examples of this, Taylor added, include possibly working with local businesses and organizations to serve a more diverse customer base through small acts such as providing menus in Spanish, or by addressing reports of individuals of color being targeted in retail establishments and other spaces.
Taylor cited Stewart’s own story of being followed while shopping in Ashland, which he shared at a prior ASP event last November, in describing the need for such action.
The May 8 program will also provide an opportunity for attendees to sign up to take action and volunteer with ORP, which recently brought Johnsen on as a part-time community engagement director. Volunteer opportunities will include event planning, fundraising, leading local book clubs, an oral history project, and engaging in the Justice for Hakiym campaign.
Those interested in attending the May 8 event can register in advance at https://ashlandtogether.org/event/how-do-you-reconcile-a-lynching-a-story-of-justice-and-redemption.
Ashland resident and freelance journalist Meg Wade’s byline has appeared in Mother Earth News and other publications. Email Ashland.news at [email protected].
