Ashland, Ore. –Hundreds of people gathered in Ashland Saturday morning, to talk about racism in the community.
The public forum, “Unpacking Racism,” drew a large crowd to the Historic Ashland Armory, for a two-hour long presentation and group discussion.
“There are a lot of things that we need to discuss and we need to start addressing as a city, as a community,” Julie Cortez said.
Organizers say the event was created following two racially-charged verbal attacks in Ashland in just the past week. They welcomed everyone to share their experiences, and ideas on how to tackle racism in the Rogue Valley.
“The racism and oppression in our society is not our fault, but we must accept responsibility and accountability in addressing it,” Marjorie Trueblood-Gamble said.
The forum was organized by the City of Ashland, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Southern Oregon University, and numerous other groups and non-profits.
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