South Lake Tahoe rallies and march to demonstrate solidarity with Black Lives Matter

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - There are two community-wide events in South Lake Tahoe Friday, June 12 to join voices around the world to eradicate racism, educate and peacefully protest.

Lakeview Commons - 12:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m

The Black Lives Matter peaceful rally will kick off with a free brunch provided at Lakeview Commons followed by heartfelt and family-friendly live entertainment. There will be booths held by local businesses, vendors, speakers, live painting, live music, yoga, collective stress relief/breathing and silent auctions to benefit Black Lives Matter and local community organizations.

This will be a peaceful event focusing on education, emotional solidarity, and calls for radical change to racist systems in society.

The local group, Tahoe Activist Artists, has created "Art for Black Lives" as a call for a creative response to the protests in support of the black community and they will be at the rally. Artists on hand will be Shelley Zentner, Eva Sayler, Annie Davidson, Colleen Klym, Eleanor BonBon. Guy Gilmore, Tahoe Fire Dancers, Erica Eng, World Beats from Charles Unger, Eric Smith and Celia Dubose, and Acoustic HipHop from Louis Klingelhoffer.

Lakeview Commons is located at the corner of Lake Tahoe Boulevard and Lakeview Avenue.

At 7:00 p.m. they will leave the commons and walk peacefully to Lake Tahoe Community College.

Lake Tahoe Community College - 7:30 p.m.

Students, staff, and faculty of Lake Tahoe Community College (LTCC) and the entire South Lake Tahoe community are invited to join a peaceful gathering on Friday, June 12 at 7:30 p.m. on the synthetic turf soccer field located on LTCC’s campus. This is an apolitical event that provides an opportunity to amplify student voices, remember the life and tragic death of George Floyd, and to join our voices together to eradicate systematic racism from our community.

The event program entails a gathering of support including speakers followed by 8 minutes and 46 seconds of silence in remembrance of Mr. Floyd and other black Americans and persons of color who have lost their lives due to racial discrimination and profiling.

Speakers will include members of LTCC’s student leadership, LTCC board trustee Nancy Dalton, LTCC President Jeff DeFranco, and leaders from the local group responsible for organizing events at Lakeview Commons in the wake of Mr. Floyd’s death.

Lit candles are not allowed on LTCC’s soccer field. Attendees are encouraged to bring battery-operated lighting or cell phone lights if they choose to do so.

Consistent with CDC guidelines, all attendees should wear a cloth face covering or mask in order to participate, and physical distancing protocols will be in place on the soccer field for the safety of those gathered.

Lake Tahoe Community College is located at One College Drive off of Al Tahoe Boulevard in the heart of South Lake Tahoe. Attendees can find free parking on LTCC’s campus and in the Community Playfield parking lot located on Al Tahoe Blvd.