Gov. Tina Kotek and First Lady Aimee Kotek Wilson attended the fifth annual Wilsonville Juneteenth Celebration. The governor joined several speakers, including Wilsonville Mayor Shawn O’Neil, Commissioner for the Oregon Commission on Black Affairs Tai Harden-Moore, and two students from the Wilsonville High School Black Student Union, Tristan Hamilton and Koren Timmons.
“On Juneteenth we honor the resilience and history of the Black community,” Kotek said. “Today, we celebrate this day by celebrating Black excellence. We celebrate by reaffirming our commitment to equality, justice and the fight against systemic racism. Oregonians know that the inclusion of diverse voices in every room does not make anyone smaller – it makes all of us bigger. And celebrating the freedom of one group does not diminish the freedom of others – it makes us all more free.”
The event’s featured keynote speaker, Tai Harden-Moore, is a published writer and speaker who highlights the importance of allyship and the significance of uniting to eliminate institutional racism. Her remarks discussed the power of the collective in making meaningful societal change…