In this issue, you will find background information on Juneteenth, list of events occuring around Juneteenth and a poem entitled: When Freedom Comes.
Background Information - Juneteenth " 19th of June"
Earlier this week, Monday, the "19th of June", was Juneteenth Independence Day in America. That's right, America has a 2nd Independence Day, officially recognized by the Congress of the United States for many years. Officially recognized in 19 states as either a state holiday or state holiday observance, and referenced as a special day by Gubernatorial Proclamations or state legislative resolutions in many more states, Juneteenth was totally ignored by the national media again this week.
Juneteenth, or the "19th of June", recognizes June 19, 1865, in Galveston, TX, when Union General Gordon Granger announced freedom for all slaves in the Southwest. This was the last major vestige of slavery in the United States following the end of the Civil War. This occurred more than two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued by President Abraham Lincoln. Upon the reading of General Order #3 by General Granger, the former slaves celebrated jubilantly, establishing America's second Independence Day Celebration and the oldest African-American holiday observance.
Further reading about Juneteenth visit
http://www.juneteenth.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juneteenth
Listing of Juneteenth Events
Wednesday
June 17th Juneteenth 3 Kilometer (1.86 Mile) Run (to be confirmed!)
12noon DC Road Runners Club
Entrance of FDR Memorial
Washington, DC
National Juneteenth Congressional Symposium & Reception
Hosted By: The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC)
4:00pm - 6:30pm
Juneteenth CBC Congressional Symposium
6:30pm - 8:00pm
Juneteenth CBC Congressional Reception
Rev. Ronald V. Myers, Sr., M.D., Master of CeremoniesRayburn House Office Building
Rooms B339-B340
Washington, DC
Thursday
June 18th (Juneteenth Program for Thursday T.B.A.)
Friday
June 19th JUNETEENTH INDEPENDENCE DAY
NATIONAL DAY OF RECONCILIATION & HEALING FROM THE LEGACY OF ENSLAVEMENT
National Juneteenth Prayer Breakfast
8:30am Rev. Ronald V. Myers, Sr., M.D., Chairman
National Juneteenth Christian Leadership Council
Speaker: Pastor Jack Gaines, Author
"My Brother's Keeper Not My Brother's Killer"National Press Club
529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor
Washington, DC
National Juneteenth Black Holocaust "MAAFA" Memorial Service and National Juneteenth Prayer Service
11:30am
Rev. Ronald V. Myers, Sr., M.D., Chairman
National Juneteenth Christian Leadership Council
Speakers:
Pastor Jack Gaines, Author
"My Brother's Keeper, Not My Brother's Killer"Pastor Johnnie Hunter, National Director
L.E.A.R.N.Pastor Randy Skinner, Director
Urban Mission
Dallas, TX
"Reading of the Names" (Victims of Lynchings in America)
Presentation of the Dr. James Cameron National Juneteenth Leadership Award
Honoring Dr. James Cameron, Founder
America's Black Holocaust Museum
Poetry by Pierre L. Sutton, Jr. & Kevin Reeves (invited!)
Gospel Music by Lisa Winn
Lincoln Park United Methodist Church
Rev. Harold D. Lewis, Sr., Pastor
1301 North Carolina, N.E.
Washington, DC
Also, Juneteenth Celebration Hosted by the Special Collections Division of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, in conjunction with the African-American Civil War Museum, the DC Black History Celebration Committee, and the D.C. Office of Aging Presents a Day of Music, Poetry, Drumming and Dancing, as well as information sharing honoring Juneteenth DC
Friday, June 19th from 11:00 am - 5:00pm at MLK Library (Great Hall), 901 G Street, N.W. in Washington, DC.
Sunday
June 21st National Juneteenth Worship Service
10:45am Rev. Cornelius Wheeler, Pastor
Vermont Avenue Baptist Church
1630 Vermont Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC
Poem - When Freedom Comes
When Freedom Comes
when freedom comes
we would be able
to walk down the streets
with our eyes, arms, and legs wide open
filled with such joy of liberation and justice for all when freedom comes
we would be able to hear the beats
that beats and play on forever in the wilderness
aching for us to release our self-expression
when freedom comes
the clouds would submerge
the stars will shine bright
the sun will reflect against our skin
the fire will not burn rapidly against
our soul
the moon will rotate against our soul and spirit
when freedom comes
we would be able to hear
the cries of the children
feel the beauty that we have been missing from peace
when freedom comes
we would not be entrapped in the darkness of the demons
when freedom comes
we would be able to have a stronger grasp
on our mission
envisioning the possibilities of our future
when freedom comes
we shall remain strong
stand firm on the ground
be able to speak our mind
about the beauty of freedom
when freedom comes
we shall not walk with the color red
but in colors of brilliance and intelligence
for gaining and seeking that which is freedom
when freedom comes
we will not have to walk
behind the dullness of life
but in the brilliance of pleasant thoughts
when freedom comes
we would be able to build
a brighter temple of life and light
when freedom comes
we would be able to know
that in fact being free
is divine and crucial to removing and freeing anything
that obstructs the journey
when freedom comes
we shall not fight in hate
we shall fight for love and peace to remain
where we can create freedom
'cause when freedom comes
we would be a changed society,nation and race when freedom comes
© 2009 by Afrika Abney
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