4 GROUNDCOVER NEWS JUNETEENTH JUNE 16, 2023 Celebration of Juneteenth in Washtenaw County and across the nation On June 19, Americans will celebrate the second anniversary of “Juneteenth" being a national holiday. Juneteenth marks the end of chattel slavery in America. For the African American community, Juneteenth represents a celebration of freedom, liberty and equality. Ms. Opal Lee of Fort Worth, Texas, is described as the “Grandmother of Juneteenth.” In a YouTube interview which she gave on May 24, 2021 to Southern Living Magazine, 94-yearold Ms. Lee said the following: “It is in my DNA to help people. Juneteenth is actually the 19th day of June. It started when General Gordon Granger and 7,000 Black Troops made their way to Galveston to tell the 250,000 enslaved people there that they were free. He nailed that Order called ‘General Order No. 3’ to the door of the reading Chapel of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. And when those people came in from their work and somebody read that to them, they started celebrating, and we’ve been celebrating ever since. They gained so much. They gained the ability to name themselves, the ability to have children which cannot be taken away from them. They were able to dress, to own property, to vote, to pay taxes and all these things. It was freedom then, and we need freedom now, and I see Juneteenth being a unifier…” On June 18, 2021, about one month after Ms. Opal Lee gave her interview to Southern Living Magazine, she arrived at the East Wing of the White House for a Juneteenth signing ceremony. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris welcomed Ms. Lee, Harvard Professor Annette Gordon-Reed, Texas Congresswoman Sheila Jackson and other invited guests to celebrate the law which made June 19 a federal holiday. Vice President Kamala Harris said, “Throughout history, Juneteenth has been known by many names — Jubilee Day, Freedom Day, Liberation Day … and today, a national holiday. Today is a day of celebration. It is not only a day of pride, it’s also a day for us to reaffirm and rededicate ourselves to action.” Nevada Current Newspaper was among several news organizations which covered the White House event. It reported on Vice President Harris' remarks, including “the White House was built by enslaved people and the ceremony [took] place from where President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.” The Nevada Current also reported a quote from Congresswoman Jackson who WILL SHAKESPEARE Groundcover vendor No. 258 fought very hard and very long to make Juneteenth a national holiday. Congresswoman Jackson said, “It has been a long journey … It has not been an easy journey. When we stand here today, we should be reminded of the fact that there were people who continued to experience the whips of a whip for two more years, even as Abraham Lincoln stood in the shining sun in the aftermath of Gettysburg to unite the Union and proclaim the slaves freed in 1863.” The Public Law which President Biden signed was truly bipartisan legislation entitled “Juneteenth National Independence Day.” It sailed through the Senate, and only 14 Republicans voted against the Bill at the U.S. House of Representatives. Below is a brief remark by President Biden proclaiming Juneteenth a federal holiday and a day of observance: “On June 19, 1865 — nearly nine decades after our Nation’s founding, and more than two years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation — enslaved Americans in Galveston, Texas, finally received word that they were free from bondage. As those who were formerly enslaved were recognized for the first time as citizens, Black Americans came to commemorate Junteenth with celebrations across the country, building new lives and a new tradition that we honor today. In its celebration of freedom, Juneteenth is a day that should be recognized by all Americans. And that is why I am proud to have consecrated Juneteenth as our newest national holiday.” Gratitude to Opal Lee, Annette Gordon-Reid and Sheila Jackson On May 30, Baptist News Global Writer Mallory Challis wrote an article titled, “Opal Lee may be ‘Grandmother of Juneteenth,’ but she’s not done working for justice yet.” Today, Ms. Lee is 96. Last year, on June 17, Opal Lee visited Harvard University’s Chan School of Public Health in order to tell U.S. President Joe Biden is applauded as he reaches for a pen to sign the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law, as Opal Lee, a 94-year-old activist and retired educator in Fort Worth, Texas, reacts with Vice President Kamala Harris in the East Room of the White House. June 17, 2021. REUTERS/Carlos Barria stories of Juneteenth. Two notable viewpoints from Ms. Lee are: Juneteenth is not a celebration for one day and it was her candid wish that people across America will celebrate freedom and liberty from the 19th of June to the 4th of July Independence Day. Annette Gordon-Reed is a Pulitzer-Prize-winning author whose recent book is entitled “On Juneteenth.” She is also a distinguished professor of history and law at Harvard. On February 10, 2022, Virginia Commonwealth University invited her to deliver the “VCU Black History Month Lecture.” She came to VCU last year to talk about her book. Planners of the Juneteenth celebration at Harvard (June 14-17) invited Professor Gordon-Reed in order to learn more about her experience growing up in the 1960s and 1970s, about Texas history, and about the complexities of America’s past historiography and how we reflect on the experiences. News writer Brian McNell said that Annette Gordon-Reed is “the first African American recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for history and one of the authoritative voices on race and history in America.” The prize was awarded to her book project titled, “The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family.” The book, “On Juneteenth" has won several awards and recognition. The publisher told McNell that the book, “'On Juneteenth' provides a historian’s view of the country’s long road to Juneteenth, recounting both its origin in Texas and the enormous hardships that African Americans have endured in the century since, from reconstruction through Jim Crow and beyond.” We wish to salute and thank Congresswoman Sheila Jackson and her colleagues in Congress. During a period of uncertainty and the nightmare of COVID-19 pandemic she and her co-sponsors in the House and Senate made it possible to secure a bi-partisan law which President Biden was very happy to sign. Conclusion On June 2, 2021, the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners issued a resolution proclaiming June 19 as county observance of Juneteenth. June 19 was already made a holiday in Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor during the springtime of 2021 before it was made a federal holiday with President Biden’s signature. Street marches and rallies took place in Ann Arbor and on the U-M campus. The Ann Arbor branch of the NAACP organized several celebrations in city parks. Brown Chapel made several books on history available and held conversations on reimagining justice celebration at the Ypsilanti Church. Similar celebrations took place in 2022. For the 2023 Juneteenth celebration, community members are advised to search for events on Facebook for the cities of Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor. Several events are planned for revelers and street vendors in Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor. Groundcover News will be represented on Saturday, June 17 in downtown Ypsilanti. Finally, Juneteenth can be a family celebration or a group celebration. It is also an occasion for civic knowledge and community education. We encourage intergenerational celebration. All the advocates who worked hard to make Juneteenth a federal holiday say that every American needs to know the story of Juneteenth, especially the young people in our communities. Reading, learning and in-depth conversations will give us hope for the future. HAPPY FREEDOM DAY!
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