Also called: Juneteenth National Independence Day, Jubilee Day, Emancipation Day, Freedom Day, Black Independence Day
image: © Tippman98x/Shutterstock.com
What to know:
Yazmyn Gross, two years old, with father Anthony and mother Jazmyn. RION SANDERS/GREAT FALLS TRIBUNE.
FREE VIRTUAL EVENTS from the National Museum of African American History & Culture:
Ideas in Unexpected Places by 
Juneteenth Texas by
Juneteenth Texas explores African-American folkways and traditions from both African-American and white perspectives. Included are descriptions and classifications of different aspects of African-American folk culture in Texas; explorations of songs and stories and specific performers such as Lightnin' Hopkins, Manse Lipscomb, and Bongo Joe; and a section giving resources for the further study of African Americans in Texas.
To Plead Our Own Cause by
Boys strapped to carpet looms in India, women trafficked into sex slavery across Europe, children born into bondage in Mauritania, and migrants imprisoned at gunpoint in the United States are just a few of the many forms slavery takes in the twenty-first century. There are twenty-seven million slaves alive today, more than at any point in history, and they are found on every continent in the world except Antarctica. To Plead Our Own Cause contains ninety-five narratives by slaves and former slaves from around the globe. Told in the words of slaves themselves, the narratives movingly and eloquently chronicle the horrors of contemporary slavery, the process of becoming free, and the challenges faced by former slaves as they build a life in freedom. An editors' introduction lays out the historical, economic, and political background to modern slavery, the literary tradition of the slave narrative, and a variety of ways we can all help end slavery today. Halting the contemporary slave trade is one of the great human-rights issues of our time. But just as slavery is not over, neither is the will to achieve freedom, "plead" the cause of liberation, and advocate abolition. Putting the slave's voice back at the heart of the abolitionist movement, To Plead Our Own Cause gives occasion for both action and hope.
WPI celebrates Juneteenth 2022 by highlighting the significance of this federal holiday marking the emancipation of slavery in the United States. Juneteenth offers us the opportunity for reflection, introspection, and healing as we continue to advance the work for racial equity and justice.
Use this weekend and beyond to support Black-owned businesses and shops in the Greater Worcester community, read the history of this commemorative day and American chattel slavery, and make a commitment to continue advancing racial, social, and economic justice at WPI.
