Juneteenth!

The House and Senate have now passed a bill to make Juneteenth a federal holiday, with the bill heading to President Biden’s desk for its final signature. This Saturday will be the first national Juneteenth celebration in the United States, representing one way that we formally celebrate Black liberation together.

And also, while we celebrate this milestone, we acknowledge that there is still so much work to be done to ensure Black liberation becomes a reality. In the words of Congresswoman Cori Bush:

“It’s Juneteenth AND reparations.
It’s Juneteenth AND end police violence + the War on Drugs.
It’s Juneteenth AND end housing + education apartheid.
It’s Juneteenth AND teach the truth about white supremacy in our country.
Black liberation in its totality must be prioritized.”

For today, tomorrow, and the next day, we continue the work and ministry of liberation for all of God’s children.

In recent United Church of Christ News, Connie Larkman offers this brief history of Juneteenth and the following Juneteenth celebrations hosted by various communities and leaders within the United Church of Christ. You’re invited to attend virtually! (UCC.org)

On the Fourth of July, the United States celebrates freedom from British rule. On June 19, Juneteenth celebrates freedom for all Americans. This year, the United Church of Christ is marking Juneteenth with three consecutive celebrations.

On June 19, 1865, two months after Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s surrender ended the Civil War, Union General Gordon Granger read a federal proclamation in Galveston, Tex. He notified enslaved people of African descent that they were free. Granger’s announcement put into effect the Emancipation Proclamation, which had been issued more than two and a half years earlier — on Jan. 1, 1863 — by President Abraham Lincoln.

June 17, 1:30 pm MT: United Black Christians (UBC) celebration

“Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States,” said Zillah Wesley, president of United Black Christians, representing some 50,000 African American members of the UCC. “The Emancipation Proclamation had little impact on the Texans due to the minimal number of Union troops to enforce the new executive order. However, with the surrender of General Lee in April of 1865 and the arrival of General Granger’s regiment, the forces were finally strong enough to influence and overcome the resistance.”

UBC is presenting the first of three events marking Juneteenth 2021. On Thursday, June 17, at 3:30 p.m. ET, UBC will “celebrate the historic significance of Juneteenth to our UCC congregations, especially our African Descendent churches.”

The hourlong celebration will include representatives from Peoples Congregational UCC in Washington, D.C.; Mt. Zion Congregational Church, UCC, Cleveland; St. Albans Congregational Church, UCC, St. Albans, N.Y.; and First Congregational Church, UCC, Atlanta. They will mark the holiday in prayer, meditation and song. Register here.

June 18, 10 am MT: ‘Stories and Sacred Music’

On Friday, June 18, Racial Justice Ministries is planning a noon ET Juneteenth Celebration with stories and sacred music. The Rev. Velda Love, UCC minister of racial justice, will host an hour and a half of music, spoken word and creative expressions of joy, sorrow and praise. Register here.

Here are the featured participants:

• Valerie Tutson, master storyteller

• Marcus Simmons, African-centered Ethnomusicologist

• The Rev. Osagyefo Sekou, musician, theologian, freedom fighter, national and global performance artist

• The Rev. Vahisha Hasan, community activist and organizer, and spoken-word artist

“African descended people have resisted, revolted, protested and fought for their freedom and right to exist as God intended since the beginning of human existence,” Love said. On Friday, participants can “listen to lives of African peoples through four genres of storytelling and music. Experience the long history of first peoples despite the interruptions, setbacks and tragedies.”

“The celebration tells the story of African-descendant people in this country,” said the Rev. Traci Blackmon, noting the UCC’s three planned celebrations. “It celebrates our power, our talents, our skills, our brilliance. It highlights the many contributions made by people of African descent in this country, without which this nation could not have prospered as it has.”

June 19, 5:30 pm MT: Live from Carnegie Hall

On Saturday, June 19, the denomination is serving as one of the sponsors of a Juneteenth program at Carnegie Hall. The Rev. James Forbes, senior minister emeritus of The Riverside Church in New York City and founder of the Healing of the Nations Foundation, will host the event.

The Rev. Dr. James Forbes, senior minister emeritus of The Riverside Church, New York City

Juneteenth is a special day to Forbes, and one he hopes to see become a national holiday.

“My wife is from San Antonio, Tex.,” he said, noting that he became aware of the importance of Juneteenth during celebrations in Texas. “That was the only day that Black people in San Antonio could go to the segregated park.” He said it was a day of “music, dancing, speeches, how far they had come and how far they had to go.”

That’s when Forbes became convinced that Juneteenth should be a national holiday for the nation. “It was the first day all slaves were free. It’s an all-America freedom day,” he said. “That’s the day all Americans were free. General Order #3, brought by General Granger, said all slaves were free. The order said former slaves and former slave owners had absolute equality. Not everybody remembers that.”

So Forbes helped start a Juneteenth celebration at the Riverside in 2015, in the spirit of those first celebrations. Four years later, the event moved to Carnegie Hall.

“We shifted to Carnegie Hall in 2019, which gave an extra ‘oomph’ to the celebration,” he said. “We filled Carnegie Hall with a glorious program.” In 2020, because of COVID, it went virtual. This year, it remains virtual, and Forbes hopes to be back in the Hall in 2022.

Forbes will lead a celebration of music, dance and commentary with Mistress of Ceremonies, actress Tamara Tunie; special guest, performer Wayne Brady; Martin Luther King III; and Annette Gordon-Reed.

The event, at 7:30 p.m. ET, will also mark important contributions that African Americans have made to the U.S., honoring Carnegie Hall Chairman Robert F. Smith; Founder and Executive Director Bryan Stevenson of the Equal Justice Initiative; and U.S. Rep Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas.