Slant – 2017-01-12

Monday, Jan. 16, is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. If you haven’t already, take a moment to read MLK’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” or his “I Have a Dream” speech and remind yourself of how far we have come and how very far we still have to go when it comes to race and racism in this country. The Eugene-Springfield NAACP says that the 2017 MLK Jr. March shaping up to be biggest to date, and as well it should. Black Lives Matter. To march, meet at the north gate of Autzen Stadium/PK Park (parking will be available in the Serbu Campus parking lot directly across the street). The march starts at 9 am with coffee and at 10 am marchers will head to The Shedd Institute for a community program. This is the MLK march’s 30th year in Lane County and it’s more important than ever.

• Michael Moore promised on national television that he is going from Michigan to Washington, D.C. to join the Women’s March on Jan. 21, the day after Donald Trump is inaugurated. Hopefully, thousands of men will join him there and thousands more will march in Eugene, Portland and other American cities to protest Trump’s betrayal of American values.

• Four unhoused people in Portland have died as a result of Oregon’s frigid weather. That’s two people too many. Here in Eugene, the volunteers of the Egan Warming Center are exhausted after night after night of activation and we are hearing reports of homeless people in town requiring amputation due to frostbite. We need a staffed full-time shelter — overnight shelter is a start, but it’s not enough. Just how many people are homeless in Lane County? In 2016, the annual Point in Time homeless count found 1,451 unsheltered people. The 2017 count will be Jan. 25. The Community Alliance of Lane County (CALC) is coordinating volunteers to aid in the count to fill 2-3 hour shifts between 8 am and 8 pm. Volunteers are required to do an online training or can attend a training 3:30 pm Tuesday, Jan 17, at the Lane County Health & Human Services building’s Charnelton Room 258, 151 W. 7th Avenue. For more info about the trainings contact Michael Carrigan at CALC at 541-844-4677 or calcpeace@gmail.com. To volunteer at Egan go to eganwarmingcenter.com.

• With terrifying ignorance of climate change coming from President-elect Donald Trump and his choices for critical leadership positions, we’re hoping that Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, California Gov. Jerry Brown and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee will form a fighting bloc out here on the West Coast. Jerry Brown already has signed on former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to help the state attorney general do whatever it takes to continue California’s battle against extreme climate change. Kate Brown tends to be cautious, but Oregon must step up. We have everything to lose if we don’t.

• What if Hillary Clinton did run for mayor of New York City? Would she win?