Celebrate peace and justice Jan. 25

Presenter: Celebrate peace, justice, and Aquarian birthdays Jan. 25 from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. It’s a fundraising event for Eugene PeaceWorks and Friends of David Oaks. Independent KEPW News producer Echo, of the show Underground Echo, is helping to organize the event.

[00:00:16] Echo: It is the celebrating peace and justice birthday party event. We’re celebrating a special evening of community and activism and Aquarian birthdays. There’s also going to be a DZ Film Festival, some short films and it is at Emerald Community Fellowship. 631 E. 19th Ave. in Eugene, parking at the high school.

[00:00:44] I just think that the community would really enjoy coming together in a family-like atmosphere and being a part of the KEPW family. Because in this time particularly after the inauguration it is so important for us to maintain connections and not let the hate speech that is being paraded all over the media divide us even further. Cause I think it’s, it’s so important to uplift each other in these times. If your enemy is trying to divide you, then you need to stick together.

[00:01:18] We have reached out to our neighbors, the PSL group and the DSA to invite them since we recently went to their rally. And we’re trying to kind of drive a campaign to connect with more of our local businesses and organizations.

[00:01:37] Presenter: Echo from the KEPW program Underground Echo. Her news crew livestreamed the ‘We Fight Back’ rally on Sunday, Jan. 19. What are your picks for the most memorable speeches?

[00:01:48] Echo: Nikolai. He’s a friend. I didn’t even realize he could speak like that because he’s, he’s normally just kind of like this, you know, affable geek, and for him to get up there and rain the fire and brimstone down that he did and the passion in his voice, I was, I was shocked, frankly, and I was so intrigued, and it made me want to listen to more of what he said, you know?

[00:02:13] Nikolai (‘We Fight Back’ rally Jan. 19): The working class creates all wealth. Without our labor, nothing gets done. Musk does not make cars. Trump does not build hotels. Bezos does not deliver packages. We do! And if we want to be able to protect and empower the people that we care about and ourselves, it starts at the workplace. I’m a union carpenter and because I am in a union and have that protection, I am paid nearly double what many non -union carpenters are paid. I have health insurance. I have a pension.

[00:02:54] If you want to be able to afford to survive, to visit a doctor, to retire, which is a dream for many, then you need to get organized. That’s right, get involved with your union and if you are not in a union, it is time to organize with your co-workers and make one.

[00:03:23] You may not know how to do that and that’s okay, DSA is here for you. We will show you, we can work together to give you the skills and the resources you need to fight back. It is not enough to be pro-union. We need to take action together now.

[00:03:45] Echo: Kaleigh Bronson Cook, oh, that was powerful.

[00:03:49] Kaleigh Bronson-Cook (‘We Fight Back’ rally Jan. 19): We talk about women’s rights as if those rights just fell out of the sky one day, magically, out of nowhere. But those rights were struggled for. They were fought for and they were won, often at great personal sacrifice to countless women whose faces and names we will never know: Black women who led slave rebellions, risking torture, lynching and state-sponsored murder, women who were brutalized, arrested, and even killed, fighting for the right to vote, women facing down fire hoses, fire hydrants, fighting for civil rights, women at the Stonewall riots, women in the movement for Black lives, women in the labor movement and so many others. Their struggle continues now, today, as our struggle.

[00:05:06] They, not politicians, not billionaire “feminists” are who we have to thank for every single right that we as working women enjoy today it is with them and with us that I find my conviction that a better world is possible and we have to build it together…

[00:05:32] Echo: That girl could be the next Sojourner Truth, that was how powerful it was, you know, cause, like, I got goosebumps listening to some of these speakers.

[00:05:40] Presenter: Echo is just one of the independent news producers you can support by attending the event, and by bidding in the silent auction.

[00:05:48] Echo: I’m excited about the silent auction because I am getting some pretty cool donations. Sundance Market donated $50 worth of really cool items. Thank you, Alan, for donating from Star Gate a really cool pillowcase. Star Gate is like a local metaphysical business for all your spiritual needs. And if you need your vibe cooled down, going into Star Gate is a great refresher. It’s just such a beautifully calm, peaceful, loving atmosphere.

[00:06:24] MECCA is donating a basket, and I’m getting to put that together today, actually, so I’m excited about doing that. We’re thinking something artistic. MECCA is a local nonprofit that takes art supplies and upcycles them, and so they’re a pretty cool organization. Shout out to Lexi Starr who works there. She’s the manager and she is phenomenal. She is the driving force behind that place.

[00:06:54] Special K Glass is so generously donating that it’s unbelievable. They said, come in, pick out whatever you want, and there’s no price limit.

[00:07:04] I think it’s going to be really exciting to have the bands we have coming, Rob Tobias Trio and Cross Current. There’s going to be dancing, which, that excites me. I like dancing and it’s a family-friendly event, so people of all ages, particularly kids might enjoy coming cause there’s going to be a potluck with vegan options from Cafe Soriah, who’s donated quite generously a $100 gift card to the auction and, yeah, we are hoping to outreach to our community so they can provide support by just showing up.

[00:07:45] And just by showing up, you show your support to KEPW, you help keep stories alive on the radio.

[00:07:54] We’ll be collecting donations and selling KEPW merchandise throughout. So that’s another way you can contribute and get something out of it too.

[00:08:03] Presenter: You can catch Echo on Underground Echo.

[00:08:07] Echo: Wednesdays from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. is our regular Underground Echo show. Right before Legalize Survival. Underground Echo kind of focuses on topics that fall through the cracks. And then I will be helping Jana (Thrift) with segments of her Legalize Survival.

[00:08:25] Presenter: Peace, justice, and Aquarian birthdays Jan. 25 from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. at 19th and Patterson.

from Eugene PeaceWorks and Friends of David Oaks

The community is invited to a special evening Saturday Jan. 25 celebrating community, activism and Aquarian birthdays, to benefit Eugene PeaceWorks / Friends of David Oaks.

Enjoy short films at the DZ and Friends Film Festival, a silent auction, raffle, a community potluck, and live music by Rob Tobias and Friends and the political folk trio Cross Current, while making a meaningful impact. Five free KEPW shirts and KEPW stickers while they last.

Schedule of Events

Master of Ceremonies: Chico Schwall

4 p.m. Doors open, socializing

4:05 p.m. DZ and Friends Film Festival. Come early and help choose the festival program!  Audience selections from the following:

• Biking, Paddling, & Marching For Peace (7 minutes). In 1976, Eugene activists such as Skeeter Duke, Reba West, Olive & Bruce Bowers & DZ and his kids and others bicycle to Corvallis, raft to Albany where they then march against nuke waste storage at Teledyne Wah Chang which made fuel rods for nuke reactors. Mostly unedited, bouncy archival video footage.
• Capturing the Flag (12 minutes). A post-Encircle Film discussion led by Phil Prince on how to address the need for electoral reform.
• Creatively Maladjusted (10 minutes). The inspiring story of how two local activists, David Oaks and Debra Nunez, have responded to challenges life has presented as the community that supports them.
• Gone But Not Forgotten (4 minutes). Briefly naming and honoring some of our community members who are no longer with us.
• Green Eugene Dreams Come True (10 minutes). Watch George Brown, Mili White and Jan Spencer transform a parking lot into a park for one day in downtown Eugene.
• Houseless Not Hopeless (10 minutes). The story of a colorful collection of housed and unhoused citizens engaging in effective grassroots community action at Opportunity Village in Eugene  (10 minutes)
• Planet Vs. Pentagon (3 minutes). David Rovics, the brilliant Portland political folksinger on how “everything can change so quick” in support of peace, justice and the environment.
• The Psycho Quad Comic (5 minutes). David Oaks performs live at the Sam Bonds Bleeping Funny Comedy Hour.
• Unleash The Oaks (1 minute). Slightly dated but still current and urgent appeal by Friends of David Oaks to raise funds for his medical trust and his voice enhancement software.
• We Refuse To Be Enemies. Timely story of Ib Hamide, an Arab immigrant who left his occupied homeland to successfully live the American dream as a Muslim chef and restaurant owner only to find he must overcome similar intolerance fueled by events like the Iran hostage crisis.

5 p.m.. Live music by Cross Current

6 p.m. Potluck Dinner: Some Cafe Soriah vegan items available but bring a potluck dish to share (and plates and utensils).

7 p.m. Music by Rob Tobias and Friends 

8 p.m. Aquarian birthday people introductions of David Z (80!), Ellen, Naseem, Pablo, Wanda and more, followed by birthday cake

8:15 p.m. Rob Tobias dancing set

8:45 p.m. Silent Auction and Raffle End; claim items won

9 p.m. Bid farewells. 

The mission of Eugene PeaceWorks is to create a society free of war, oppression and exploitation and to demonstrate that peace works through education, nonviolent grassroots action and mutual empowerment.