Celebrating Juneteenth

Although President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862, declaring that all enslaved people in the states that made up the Confederacy were free, it wasn't until June 19th, 1865 when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas that the state’s residents finally learned that slavery had been abolished. Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, commemorates liberation and celebrates freedom, though it also represents how emancipation was tragically delayed for enslaved people in the deepest reaches of the Confederacy.

'Juneteenth' Marks Day Slaves In Texas Were Told They Were Free

After the Emancipation Proclamation, some slave owners kept the news from their slaves. In a 1941 recording, a former slave recalls June 19, 1865, when slaves in Texas were told they were free.

THE SYMBOLIC MEANINGS CONTAINED IN THE JUNETEENTH FLAG

CEMS SOAR Summer Book Club

We are excited to announce that CEMS SOAR will be hosting a book club for the summer semester. We will be reading A Good Time for the Truth: Race in Minnesota by Sun Yung Shin. Information on the book can be found here. If you are interested in reading with us, please fill out this form. We hope to convene sometime in July and August to discuss the book in-person with snacks. Digital and print versions available through the links below.

LEARN | Why Americans don’t learn about Tulsa, or Juneteenth 

In this podcast from June 19, 2020, Martine Powers from Post Reports discusses the legacy of two moments in history that many Americans are just beginning to learn about — Juneteenth, and the Tulsa massacre.

ACT | Make Juneteenth a National Holiday

As of today, 47 states and the District of Columbia mark Juneteenth as a state holiday, however it is not a nationally recognized holiday. In 2016, activist Opal Lee started a walking campaign to Washington, D.C. at age 89 called Opal’s Walk 2 DC with the hope of gaining Congressional support to officially name Juneteenth a national holiday. Now 94, she has continued her campaign and created a petition that has garnered bipartisan and bicameral support with over 1.5 million signatures. Take action and sign her petition to make Juneteenth a federally recognized holiday.

GIVE | Black Table Arts