Activists say this vacation is essential for everybody to acknowledge and help
But as she once humbly put it: “I’m just an old lady in tennis shoes getting in everybody’s business.”
Since 2016, Lee has trekked the nation in these laced-up sneakers to push for nationwide recognition of Juneteenth, which commemorates June 19, 1865. On that day, Union troopers introduced the news of freedom to enslaved Black folks in Galveston, Tex. — greater than two years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.
Last year, Lee’s efforts lastly succeeded when President Biden signed laws establishing Juneteenth as a federal vacation.
While thousands and thousands of Black Americans like Lee have lengthy marked the day commemorating their freedom, different folks within the United States nonetheless grapple with how to meaningfully observe the most recent nationwide vacation.
But activists say this recognition is essential for everybody. “It’s not just a Black holiday,” mentioned Alicia Austion, government director of the Juneteenth Foundation. “It’s a national holiday, an American holiday that we all should lean in and really acknowledge and support.”
We requested activists and organizers to share completely different ways Americans can honor Juneteenth.
Visit an area or nationwide museum
Mary Elliott, curator of American Slavery on the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, emphasizes the tutorial worth of museum experiences. For occasion, Elliot mentioned, (*4*)
She additionally emphasizes the significance of native museums, which may also help guests set up an understanding of the historical past in their very own neighborhood. “Local history museums are extremely important because it makes the history more personal,” she mentioned, as a result of “one thing we have learned with this history is it’s very nuanced.”
For those that can’t go to a museum in individual this year, a handful of Black museums and historic establishments from throughout the nation will take part in a digital program by BLKFreedom.org to commemorate Juneteenth.
Explore chosen readings and documentaries
“Learn what Juneteenth is all about — that’s where you start,” mentioned Cliff Robinson, who created the web site Juneteenth.com about 25 years in the past to supply information about nationwide occasions.
“It’s just like Veterans Day and Memorial Day,” he mentioned. “It’s a time to stop and think about the history, your own history or the history of a friend.”
Among his suggestions for searching for out this historical past is the work of James Baldwin, an activist and acclaimed author who wrote about racial injustice in America. “I think James is probably one of the most prolific people you can listen to along those lines,” Robinson mentioned. In specific, he recommends “I Am Not Your Negro,” a 2016 documentary based mostly on Baldwin’s unfinished manuscript “Remember This House,” which examines race relations in America based mostly on Baldwin’s private recollections of civil rights leaders Medgar Evers, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X.
Elliott, the curator on the African American Museum, mentioned documentaries can supply a lens into particular occasions and eras of the Black expertise. “There’s some great documentaries on Reconstruction, on slavery, on the Civil War,” she mentioned, including that viewers also needs to discover occasions that occurred after these intervals, too, such because the Tulsa Race Massacre. “They go into a little bit of detail about what happened after freedom came, because you can’t just look at just that one moment in time.”
Elliott additionally recommends analyzing historic speeches and writings by activists like Frederick Douglass, and prolific writers in the course of the abolition motion. “Think about poetry from the period like [that of] Frances Ellen Watkins Harper,” she mentioned, “who writes beautifully about feelings, but also the history — what was going on at the time.”
Phillis Wheatley, acknowledged as the primary Black poet printed in America, is one other title Elliott suggests. Her poetry explored questions like “What was slavery? What is this desire for freedom?”
Attend a celebration or festivity
Among the most typical ways to acknowledge Juneteenth are celebrations and festivities, mentioned Austion, whose D.C.-based basis organizes an annual competition across the vacation. This year’s event spans 4 days and features a block occasion, golf match, digital profession truthful and Father’s Day reception. “We were really founded on the purpose of recognizing Juneteenth,” Austion mentioned, “but [also] really celebrating more Black excellence, Black culture, freedom overall for all people.”
Austion believes Juneteenth celebrations supply a second to mirror and acknowledge a few of the main positive aspects and accomplishments within the Black neighborhood: “It’s worth looking at this holiday as a way to say, ‘Because of that moment that we achieved freedom, all of these other things have been able to occur.’”
This year, Austion additionally encourages folks to discover festivities in their very own neighborhood. “In many places in the country, Juneteenth festivals are annual events,” she mentioned. “You could go into pretty much every state and you’re going to find some organization that is organizing a Juneteenth festival.”
Get concerned locally
Robinson, the creator of Juneteenth.com, advises folks to learn how to present up and help native Black organizations, which might have a extra direct affect locally.
“Look locally and see who’s doing what in your city and find how you can participate, and if there’s no organization doing it, then think about creating an event,” Robinson mentioned, whose web site offers ideas for getting initiatives began in native communities, in addition to within the office. Robinson additionally launched a yard signal marketing campaign as means for neighbors to present solidarity. It’s a small gesture, he mentioned, nevertheless it helps ship a message of unity.
Another concept Austion helps is shopping for from Black-owned companies — a dedication she and her household have taken on for the month of June.
“There’s a huge opportunity in really building Black wealth and reinforcing a lot of what is going on in our own community,” Austion mentioned. “But where we can, for the month of June, we try to kind of lean into the Black community and get things more directly.”