LINC recognizes Juneteenth Independence Day--Emancipation Day--as a day of action and reflection. Our staff will take Friday off to engage in a weekend of individual or collective action in support of racial justice and to raise the visibility and importance of Black History towards the pursuit of racial and education justice. Here is how we can support and take action!
Juneteenth commemorates the true end of slavery in the United States. Two months after Confederate general Robert E. Lee surrendered in Virginia, union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas on June 19th, 1865, to announce slaves had been outlawed two years prior. Most southern states had continued to operate brutal and forced labor despite the emancipation proclamation signed into law by Abraham Lincoln declaring all slaves forever free as of January 1st, 1863.
Today, June 17, 2021, President Joe Biden signed a bill establishing Juneteenth, the date marking the end of slavery in the United States, as a federal holiday. Today, the struggle for racial justice continues and each one of us can play a role in helping to build a world where every child feels safe, recognized, validated, loved, and valued.
Here are 17 ways to recognize Juneteenth with children: https://www.weareteachers.com/teaching-juneteenth/.
There are many Juneteenth events across NYC and endless creative suggestions for adults.
Tell us how you honored Juneteenth by posting a video with the hashtags #hellajuneteenth, #juneteenth2021, #blacklivesmatter, #blackjoymatters. Don’t forget to tag Literacy Inc.!
Photo credit (top only): Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, photograph by Carol M. Highsmith.