Juneteenth (DC) - November Project

Carte-de-visite of a group of African Americans gathered around a man with a pocket watch, leaning on a pulpit made out of U.S. Sanitation Commission crates. A sign on the wall reads "1 Jan-Slaves Forever Free." The text in chain links on the sides read "Waiting for the Hour - Watch Meeting Dec 31, 1862." — “Waiting for the Hour” (1863) depicts of a group of African Americans gathered around a man with a pocket watch waiting for midnight to strike on January 1, 1863. From the collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

June 19, 2020, marks 155 years since the enslaved people of Texas were told they were free by Union soldiers. Those enslaved in Texas were the last from Confederate states to be freed in 1865. While the Emancipation Proclamation took effect in January of 1863, it took over two years for enslaved people in Texas to be freed because the state was still under Confederate control.

This year we began Juneteenth’s anniversary with a workout led by our very own Ileah Welch. She talked about growing up in Buffalo, NY, where each year her family celebrated the week of Juneteenth by wearing red, eating BBQ, and watching a parade. Ileah made the distinction that Juneteenth didn’t end slavery, but it the was they day that “property became Americans.” The learning doesn’t start nor end with Juneteenth. This is a piece of a continued effort and never-ending journey of understanding the history and experience of Black Americans in the United States.

Below is a short list of the many resources available about Juneteenth. If you have other resources you would like to add, please send them to us and we will add them. We are learning and listening along with you, so please don’t hesitate to reach out to us if there’s something you’d like to discuss.

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