BLM banners go up throughout Gorge

This Black Lives Matter banner was put up sometime earlier today at Rowena Loops.

Several homemade banners promoting social justice and Black Lives Matter were put up this morning starting in Cascade Locks and ending at Rowena Loops.

No one has yet claimed credit for their placement.

The banners come on Juneteenth, the oldest commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States.

Here is an excerpt from Juneteenth.com explaining the significance:

Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States.  Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19th that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. Note that this was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation - which had become official January 1, 1863. The Emancipation Proclamation had little impact on the Texans due to the minimal number of Union troops to enforce the new Executive Order. However, with the surrender of General Lee in April of 1865, and the arrival of General Granger’s regiment, the forces were finally strong enough to influence and overcome the resistance.

The pedestrian bridge over Hood River.

The Forest Lane overpass in Cascade Locks.