Bend, OR officials weighed pulling Juneteenth event funding over organizer’s anti-white Facebook post

The event, organized by Joslyn Stanfield and Kasia Moon, was ultimately funded by the city. But according to a report by Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB), city staff debated rescinding the sponsorship after Stanfield’s post in May criticized white individuals and appeared to tell them they were not invited to the event.

“If you as a white person have EVER fixed your mouth to disrespect the Black women who got the ball rolling in Central Oregon… you are not invited to a celebration meant to uplift us,” Stanfield wrote in her post.

Bend resident Brenda Betsch Parazoo contacted Mayor Melanie Kebler after the post, urging the city to revoke its support. Although the city finalized its sponsorship agreement with Stanfield that same day, the email prompted City Manager Eric King to express concern. He said Stanfield’s post “would be a violation of the use of sponsorship funds according to our current policy,” as city-sponsored events must be open to the general public. City staffer Meghan Goss then placed a temporary hold on the funds.

The funding was not released to organizers until two weeks before the event.

“We were expecting maybe a one-to-two week wait, but it ended up being quite a while,” Stanfield said. She also claimed no one from the city contacted her directly about the post and said she later clarified online that the event was open to all.

“I can’t really use the word white or the word Black here without it being a trigger in some kind of way,” Stanfield said, per OPB. “It was this moment of, ‘OK, they still don’t know the history of why it’s different for Black people to discuss discrimination and racism that we face from white people.’”

King explained the city’s concern was about inclusivity.

“The concern is when you start saying, we don’t want to invite people, that’s where it’s really difficult as a public agency to sort of regulate that in some sort of way,” he said. “We do need to make sure our events are open to everybody.”

Stanfield and others first organized a Juneteenth event in Bend’s Drake Park in 2020. From 2021 to 2024, the event was managed by the nonprofit Father’s Group until the group cancelled hosting in 2025, citing a volatile political climate.

The city currently allocates over $225,000 for its sponsorship program as part of its budget. Events under the program include the Fourth of July and Veterans Day parades, Welcoming Week, Bend Pride, and Juneteenth. While the city typically follows through with its sponsorship commitments, officials previously pulled funding in 2024 from a Christmas parade after organizers refused to allow pro-LGBTQ flags.