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Wednesday, July 29, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
VIGIL: Sisters activists
commemorated killing
of George Floyd
Continued from page 1
people to be aware that not
everything is as perfect as it
seems in Sisters. Things still
need to be fixed. We all need
to take that responsibility,
especially in Sisters where
we9re not as exposed as
other places to what differ-
ent kids experience around
the world and our nation. We
have to be more sensitive to
those who are different, and
may need something more.=
As a person of Asian
descent, Hougham gave an
example of an Asian person
in the Sisters schools, and
how Chinese, or students of
Asian descent, have been
treated since the coronavirus
hit the U.S.
<It9s people who don9t
respect Chinese culture,=
Hougham told The Nugget.
<Kids make fun of the lan-
guage at my school and I
have to say it9s not OK. It
makes us both feel awkward,
and even though I9m doing
the right thing it brings a
tension between us, espe-
cially since I9m the minority.
People associate the coro-
navirus with China and take
out their anger on Chinese
or Asian people in general.
Students don9t realize it9s
not a joke and it needs to be
taken seriously. It9s a very
real problem and more dan-
gerous for a person who9s
Asian American. It can be
scary.=
A member of the steering
committee for Indivisible
Sisters Oregon, Joshua
Berger said he hopes events
like the George Floyd vigil
will help people learn, and
encourage them to take time
to listen and dig deeper into
racism in the U.S.
<This kind of violence has
been going on for hundreds
of years. There just wasn9t
cell phone videos to capture
it. We wanted to have an
evening of contemplation. I
don9t have black skin, so I9ll
never know truly what it9s
like,= said Berger. <We hope
awareness is increased and
people think about what they
can do to improve things.
But the journey is inward as
well. We can all do better.=
Hougham hopes her
efforts and those of many
Sisters residents will
improve conditions for Black
people.
<We all have privilege if
we9re not Black,= she said.
<I wanted to tell others that
if they9re not doing any-
thing, then they9re on the
wrong side. They need to
take a stand against racism
even if they don9t experi-
ence it themselves. They
need to take time to educate
themselves and make them-
selves available for allyship
whenever possible. If you9re
different or not the typical
person who lives in Sisters,
some people think it9s wrong
to have a grievance or
address a problem when we
should be grateful for what
we have. It can be toxic to
be positive all the time. We
need to take responsibil-
ity for the things that still
need improvement. Just
because you ignore some-
thing doesn9t make it any
less real. If you choose to not
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PHOTO BY MARY CHAFFIN
Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum (orange baseball cap) joined
Saturday’s Black Lives Matter demonstration as she was visiting Sisters.
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Olivia Hougham offered opening remarks at a vigil in Village Green Park
on Saturday.
accept what9s happening that
doesn9t invalidate what other
people are experiencing or
who they are or what they
have been through. I want
to make it clear that to make
this country and commu-
nity better and stronger, we
need to start accepting dif-
ferent perspectives and start
accepting people for who
they are.=