It's Juneteenth! There are marches and rallies around the country celebrating this 155-year-old commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. Big events are happening all over the States, including many in Seattle throughout this weekend. Here's the crowd arriving in Jimi Hendrix Park for speeches and performances:
#Breaking - Thousands descend on Jimi Hendrix Park in Seattle’s Central District the King County Equity Now Juneteenth Celebration. We will be streaming this event live shortly. pic.twitter.com/Fhm2x8mlAO
— Omari Salisbury (@Omarisal) June 19, 2020
This baby's got a question:
Baby at 23rd and Alder has a question. #seattleprotest pic.twitter.com/W9BPW40p7i
— Jake Goldstein-Street (@GoldsteinStreet) June 19, 2020
Durkan upstaged by "Mayor Teargas": Speaking at the Not This Time! rally in Judkins Park, Mayor Durkan was overshadowed for a brief moment by a protester dressed as "Mayor Teargas."
omg https://t.co/SIlFPHFPEf pic.twitter.com/2cUZMBvcgv
— Chase Burns (@chaseburnsy) June 20, 2020
Here's a closer look at that costumed demonstrator from this weekend:
And here's Pike Place Market: I guess it's better than nothing.
BLM at Pike Place Market for Juneteenth from r/Seattle
I've been tied to my desk all day—and in endorsement meetings! the next SECB process is in full swing!—but here are some updates on CHOP from The Stranger's Jasmyne Keimig:
Since it's Juneteenth, organizers have called for a Blackout of CHOP, asking white people to remain on the perimeters of the zone in order to give Black people the space to come together, talk, and celebrate the holiday together. This didn't necessarily happen. White people are still roaming up and down Pine and other corners of the protest. However, white and non-Black volunteers are stationed around the perimeters of Bobby Morris Playfield, requesting that white people remain on the cement so that the field can be a place for Black people to listen to the roster of speakers.
Since it’s Juneteenth white people have been asked to remain at the perimeter of Cal Anderson while Black people are asked to sit closer to the front. People are waiting for speakers to go on rn. #CHAZ #CHOP pic.twitter.com/iqpwwKNHCR
— jasmyne keimig (@jasmynekeimig) June 20, 2020The white people are mostly listening to that request and being respectful of the moment. CHOP feels pretty empty as of this writing, but my guess is that thousands of people are currently participating in one of the several Juneteenth marches and events happening around the city today.
There was a moment of tension outside the East Precinct earlier this evening, when a small group of "agitators" were attempting to break into the station. A brief brawl broke out while I was there and medics, CHOP security, and other protestors stepped in to deescalate. Eventually, the two men calmed down and organizers were able to refocus the crowd's attention onto more constructive efforts and lead a mass of people down to the playfield. A group of protestors remained at the entrance, asking Black and Indigenous people to come up to the mic to say their piece.
.@soultypechild asking for Black people to step forward and white ppl to step back in order to sort thru the confusion and deescalate the situation/the frustration pic.twitter.com/VQwr5kE4wP
— jasmyne keimig (@jasmynekeimig) June 20, 2020Go visit the Decolonization Conversation Café (DCC): Since Free Capitol Hill/CHAZ/CHOP emerged last Monday, the Decolonization Conversation Café has been a steady and stable presence within the protest area. Located right on 11th and Pine, there are several couches and chairs fenced in by barricades that have signs communicating the daily program/discussion topics (What has the last month of protesting meant to you? How can we decolonize Seattle? What's next? etc.) as well as guidelines for being in the space which is centered around Black Lives Matter.There, Non-Black people and Black people talk with each other about racism in the workplace, the freedom that comes with anarchy, and how to better support the Black community, among many topics. Whenever I hear protestors talk about "remembering why we're really here" I think of the DCC—a lot of the work that goes into undoing racism and building a more supportive and inclusive community starts with talking with your neighbor.
The organizers of DCC are asking for chairs and for more people to come out of their homes and into the space to talk about racism.
Thanks, Jasmyne!
Who ordered the evacuation of the East Precinct again? It's still a bit confusing. Here's what Assistant Chief Tom Mahaffey said, in an email sent on June 7 and obtained by Crosscut: "It is the strong position of both Chief [Carmen] Best and myself that we will not abandon one of our facilities to those who are intent on damaging or destroying it." But the next day it was abandoned. Still, no one has claimed responsibility for ordering the officers to stay away.
Some other stories we just published on Slog:
This weekend would have been the Fremont Solstice Parade: Tomorrow is the summer solstice, a.k.a Midsommar day.
Is this tomorrow? I've lost track of time. pic.twitter.com/G0IX0SE1fq
— Chase Burns (@chaseburnsy) June 20, 2020
A police officer involved in the killing of Breonna Taylor will be fired: Brett Hankison, one of three officers involved, will lose his badge. The other officers are being placed on administrative leave. Not quite the justice people are demanding.
KIRO’s lead anchor Steve Raible is retiring soon: He's won a bunch of Regional Emmy Awards and was a Seahawks player for six seasons. His last night on air will be Friday, June 26, although he will still be around as the radio voice of the Seahawks.
Trump's mad at Fox: The network showed Biden expanding his lead over Trump to 12 points in a recent Fox News poll. Trump lashed out, saying, "Fox is terrible!"
.@FoxNews is out with another of their phony polls, done by the same group of haters that got it even more wrong in 2016. Watch what happens in November. Fox is terrible!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 19, 2020
Another belligerent distraction: Trump says he won't watch the NFL if players kneel during the National Anthem. Boo hoo.
Tony Fauci has nothing to do with NFL Football. They are planning a very safe and controlled opening. However, if they don’t stand for our National Anthem and our Great American Flag, I won’t be watching!!!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 19, 2020
AP makes some points: They say black is Black.
We also now capitalize Indigenous in reference to original inhabitants of a place.
— APStylebook (@APStylebook) June 19, 2020
Our discussions on style and language consider many points, including the need to be inclusive and respectful in our storytelling and the evolution of language. We believe this change serves those ends.
— APStylebook (@APStylebook) June 19, 2020
Our revisions come after more than two years of in-depth research and discussion with colleagues and respected thinkers from a diversity of backgrounds, both within and from outside the cooperative.
— APStylebook (@APStylebook) June 19, 2020
Yakima is quickly becoming overwhelmed with spiking COVID-19 cases: It's bad. Here's part of a press release from the Yakima County Health District:
As of last night Virginia Mason Memorial had no intensive care or non-intensive care beds available.
There were multiple patients waiting for hospital bed space overnight.
This was after at least 17 patients had already been transferred out of the county.
Several individuals are still currently waiting for available bed space.
Across Yakima County, there were 61 COVID-19 positive individuals hospitalized, the highest we have seen to date.
Over the past week, all hospitals have reported critical staffing shortages. Many of these shortages are due to staff being out for either having COVID-19, demonstrating COVID-19 symptoms or because they are a close contact to a COVID-19 individual and are now under quarantine.
In yesterday's PM, the group overwhelming thought Kamala Harris would be Biden's VP pick. Seems like you could be right... Although I voted for former Orlando police chief and current Representative Val Demings. If I was a betting man I'd bet Biden will abandon the progressive wing of the party, pick a Southern strategy with a Black cop as his VP, and lose.
I just...literally was saying to a friend, can't wait for Joe Biden to choose a black woman cop as his VP and wonder why people are still mad https://t.co/2vHYuJvIej
— Sarah Jaffe (@sarahljaffe) June 19, 2020