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Every year, I believe I can feel the love of the ancestors reaching out to me, supporting with their strength, urging me to keep going. They remind me to celebrate my freedom; and yes, to eat a little BBQ and drink some strawberry soda pop.
Juneteenth gives us a special day to celebrate liberty and to honor the courage of those who stepped out from bondage to carve out lives in unfamiliar and treacherous frontiers. ...
On June 19th, 1865 - Juneteenth - two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas with news that the Civil War had ended and those who had been slaves were free. Juneteenth, Nestled between Flag Day and Independence Day, is another powerful anchor in the American experience.On June 19th - later to be known as Juneteenth - in Galveston, Texas, African Americans also gathered to celebrate. The festivities centered around family, friends, and community and was a time for thanksgiving, reflection, remembering, and prayer.
In counter-point to their experiences as "Property of the Massa", the freed men and woman dressed up and served up a bounty of food which included a main course featuring - of course - barbecue and red soda water.
This year, there will be celebrations in cities and towns from Nacogdoches, Texas to White Plains, New York to Roanoke, Virginia; in other words, all across America. These commemorations range from traditional parades and cookouts, to scuba diving demonstrations to more than a dozen Afrospear bloggers enlisting their talents to honor Juneteeth by creating dedicated posts on their individual blogs.
What do you do?
Comments: (152)
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By: TLE on 8/15/2008 6:47PM
End the hate. Release yourself from 200+ years of angst and learn to move on. I am white and was never a slave but no matter what your race neither were you or your parents, grandparents or anyone you've ever known. Get past the past and live for today. There are many horrible stains on our nations past, do something to make tomorrow brighter. Racism goes both ways and I myself suffered through racism as a youth at the hands of ignorant blacks. Don't pass down racism, hate and anger to another generation.
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By: junebugg on 9/10/2008 8:28PM
#13 KWASI I AGREE YOU WITH 150%,,,,CELEBRATE MY FOOT...ITS A BLACK HISTORY FACT...BLACK TEENS CAN CELEBRATE BY KEEPING YOUR DUMB BLACK BEHINDS IN SCHOOL ....SO YOU CAN LEARN ABOUT THE REST OF THE BLACK HISTORY FACTS.. NOT JUST ONE BLACK HISTORY FACT..FOR INSTANCE THERE WAS NO BLACK ON BLACK CRIME BACK THEN.....SO WHY ARE YOU KILLING ONE ANOTHER.... YOUR ANCESTORS WOULD BE HAPPY IF YOU WOULD STAY IN SCHOOL AND LEARN HOW TO READ,WRITE AND COUNT MOST TEENS CAN,T ......YOUR ANCESTORS DID NOT HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO TO SCHOOL......YOUR ANCESTORS WOULD BE HAPPY IF YOUR GO OUT AND REGISTER TO VOTE AND VOTE...NOT CELEBRATING SOMETHING THAT YOU,VE NEVER BEEN AND THAT IS..... A SLAVE ...JUNETEENTH SHOULD NOT BE A TIME OF CELEBRATION BUT A TIME OF REFLECTION AND PRAYER FOR THOSE THAT SUFFERED BLEAD AND DIED WHILE IN SLAVERY...SURELY THEY WERE NOT CELEBRATING
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