Juneteenth: A Time to Reflect and Celebrate
Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. It is celebrated on June 19, the anniversary of the day in 1865 when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced that the Civil War had ended and that all enslaved people were free.
In 2021, Juneteenth became a federally recognized holiday under the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act. Juneteenth is celebrated across the country among Black families and friends with street fairs, parades, and concerts with the most jubilant annual celebrations taking place in Texas, the celebration’s birthplace.
Hear from members of the BET: Black Excellence in Tech ERG on what Juneteenth means to them.
David Parker,
Senior Technical Writer
“I was introduced to Juneteenth, as a high school student, through one of my history classes. Nothing stands out about the lesson itself, except for the feelings that stirred when I discovered that the Emancipation Proclamation did not immediately free all of the enslaved. Given the significance of General Granger’s issuance of Order No. 3, I, at that time, could not understand why Juneteenth was not a more revered, FEDERAL holiday considering our nation’s history with slavery. A few years later, I attended college in Georgia, where I celebrated Juneteenth with people who grew up celebrating the holiday and I learned how much it means to our culture. I learned Juneteenth is a time to rejoice and celebrate the end of our ancestor’s toils but also a time to solemnly acknowledge that chattel slavery coexisted with America’s pursuit to define modern democracy and liberty.”
Kayla Smalls, Corporate Communications Manager
“I didn’t grow up celebrating Juneteenth and it’s a new holiday for me in the last few years. It’s disappointing that it took this long for Juneteenth to be recognized across the country but I’m glad to now have a day to celebrate independence and the continued fight for freedom and liberation. Juneteenth is a day of education, reflection, acknowledgment, and celebration because Black American history is integral to the foundation of this country and our stories and histories deserve to be told. Juneteenth represents the resiliency of our people. I’m always so proud to be a Black American, and on days like Juneteenth, I want to shout it from the rooftop.”
T’Juana Albert, VP Business Integration & Assurance
“I was born in and spent most of my time growing up in Texas where it always felt like EVERYONE knew what Juneteenth was. My fondest childhood memories are rooted in summers spent with Grandma and Pops and this was always highlighted when we celebrated Juneteenth! Like clockwork, we all gathered at their home to celebrate this momentous day and it was bigger than Thanksgiving or any other holiday for that matter (save Christmas and Easter - which are reserved for Jesus of course). Being Black is who we are and my grandparents did an amazing job of celebrating us and helping us to understand our standing in this world. We stand upright, proud and unwavering that this country was built on the backs (literally) of Black people and we celebrate this momentous day that our ancestors fought and died for.”
Resources
For Non-Black/African Americans who would like to recognize Juneteenth, June 19th is a great day to honor and embrace Black culture through its art and history. Take a look at some of the resources below to learn more and celebrate, but remember that Black culture and contributions should be recognized every day, not just on Juneteenth or during Black History Month. Black history is American history. Always.
What to Watch
The 1619 Project: Hulu’s six-part 1619 Docuseries is an expansion of “The 1619 Project” created by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones and the New York Times Magazine. The series seeks to reframe the country’s history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans at the very center of our national narrative
Why all Americans should honor Juneteenth by Vox: Take ten minutes to learn about why all Americans should honor and celebrate Juneteenth and the overdue emancipation of enslaved Black Americans.
High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America by Netflix: Watch this Peabody Award-winning series to learn about the incredible contributions that Black Americans have had on American cuisine.
Becoming by Michelle Obama: Join former first lady Michelle Obama in an intimate documentary looking at her life, hopes, and connection with others as she tours with "Becoming."
Two Distant Strangers by Netflix: In this Oscar-winning short film, a man trying to get home to his dog becomes stuck in a time loop that forces him to relive a deadly run-in with a cop.
Pose by FX: Pose is a drama spotlighting the legends, icons, and ferocious house mothers of New York’s underground ball culture, a movement that first gained notice in the late 1980s.
Civil: Ben Crump: Ben Crump, also known as "Black America's attorney general," pulls back the curtain on his life as a family man and civil rights leader.
What to Read
Here’s a list of Black-owned bookstores to support and shop at.
Juneteenth, explained, by Vox: Here’s a brief explainer on the significance of this holiday and the history behind it.
The 1619 Project by The New York Times: This award-winning project from The New York Times has started a much-needed conversation in the United States and reframed America’s history of slavery and its continued legacy today. You can buy the book (support a local Black-owned bookstore!) or read the magazine online.
On Juneteenth by Annette Gordon Reed: The essential, sweeping story of Juneteenth’s integral importance to American history, as told by a Pulitzer Prize–winning historian and Texas native.
How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America Book by Clint Smith: In a deeply researched and transporting exploration of the legacy of slavery and its imprint on centuries of American history, How the Word Is Passed illustrates how some of our country’s most essential stories are hidden in plain view-whether in places we might drive by on our way to work, holidays such as Juneteenth, or entire neighborhoods—like downtown Manhattan—on which the brutal history of the trade in enslaved men, women and children has been deeply imprinted.
Stony the Road by Henry Louis Gates, Jr: A profound new rendering of the struggle by African-Americans for equality after the Civil War and the violent counter-revolution that resubjugated them, by the bestselling author of The Black Church.
We Were Eight Years in Power by Ta-Nehisi Coates: We Were Eight Years in Power features Coates’s iconic essays first published in The Atlantic, including “Fear of a Black President,” “The Case for Reparations,” and “The Black Family in the Age of Mass Incarceration,” along with eight fresh essays that revisit each year of the Obama administration through Coates’s own experiences, observations, and intellectual development, capped by a bracingly original assessment of the election that fully illuminated the tragedy of the Obama era. We Were Eight Years in Power is a vital account of modern America, from one of the definitive voices of this historic moment.
Juneteenth by Ralph Ellison: In Juneteenth, Ralph Ellison evokes the rhythms of jazz and gospel and ordinary speech to tell a powerful tale of a prodigal son in the twentieth century. At the time of his death in 1994, Ellison was still expanding his novel in other directions, envisioning a grand, perhaps multivolume, story cycle. Always, in his mind, the character Hickman and the story of Sunraider’s life from birth to death were the dramatic heart of the narrative. And so, with the aid of Ellison’s widow, Fanny, his literary executor, John Callahan, has edited this magnificent novel at the center of Ralph Ellison’s forty-year work in progress—its author’s abiding testament to the country he so loved and to its many unfinished tasks.
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi: One of Oprah’s Best Books of the Year and a PEN/Hemingway award winner, Homegoing follows the parallel paths of these sisters and their descendants through eight generations: from the Gold Coast to the plantations of Mississippi, from the American Civil War to Jazz Age Harlem. Yaa Gyasi’s extraordinary novel illuminates slavery’s troubled legacy both for those who were taken and those who stayed—and shows how the memory of captivity has been inscribed on the soul of our nation.
What to Listen to
Honoring Juneteenth with Ibram X. Kendi (50 minutes)
The Emancipation Proclamation read by NPR (7 minutes)
153 Years of Juneteenth by WNYC (13 minutes)
The History and Meaning of Juneteenth by The Daily (30 minutes)
Where to Eat & Drink
Los Angeles
… check out this incredible resource to find Black-owned businesses in LA!
New York
check out this incredible resource of Black-owned places to shop, eat, and drink in NYC
Chicago
check out this resource to find Black-owned companies and businesses in Chicago!
We encourage you to use this day to learn more about Juneteenth, to reflect on the history of slavery and racism in the United States, and to celebrate the progress that has been made towards racial equality.