After arriving late, the Alonzo Tucker Historical marker has been placed in Coos Bay. Over 500 people attended or tuned in virtually to witness the Equal Justice Initiative Historical Marker unveiling Saturday. Tucker was a black man lynched by a white mob in Coos County in 1902 after being accused of assaulting a white woman. The inaugural Juneteenth Reflection, Reparation, a Celebration event was held at the Coos History Museum. It started with an earlier Tuesday Talk featuring panelists who discussed the meaning and importance of Juneteenth and ended with the unveiling and open house at the Coos History Museum. Speakers included Keiana West from the Equal Justice Initiative and Taylor Stewart from the Oregon Remembrance Project. Stewart outlined the process that began more than a year before to memorialize Alonzo Tucker’s death that began with soil collection from three key places throughout the bay area. Stewart said that reconciliation is found not with just the knowledge of lynching, but by what is done with that knowledge including critically evaluating the present and making changes. The historical marker is located near the entrance of the Coos Historical and Maritime Museum’s front door.
