Juneteenth 2020: A Freedom Celebration by Elegba Folklore Society
Watch Juneteenth 2020: A Freedom Celebration
On June 16th, Omilade Janine Bell (Founder & Director of Elegba Folklore Society and alumna of the Community Trustbuilding Fellowship) joined Governor Ralph Northam and Grammy-award winning artist, Pharrell Williams, along with other leaders to commemorate Juneteenth as a state holiday. Announcing a new direction forward for Virginia, the governor declared this proposal was important because “Black history is American history [that] pushes us to think about the significance of this day and why it matters…this is our shared history.” Pharrell also affirmed this historic decision by stating: “This new generation is speaking up and staring down. There is no turning back. We are only moving in one direction now - forward and into the future. I’m super grateful for Virginia for leading the way.”
Elegba Folklore Society will present Juneteenth 2020, A Freedom Celebration virtually from Richmond, Virginia, on Saturday, June 20 at 5pm EST. The theme, Independence Day Our Way, invites attendees to have a good time at the backyard party, to engage in culture and history, to circle up in community, feel empowered, feel joyful and consider what matters. Initiatives of Change USA is excited to support this critical work and will host the celebration on our Vimeo channel as a part of June’s La Ceiba Festival. Viewers can also participate in the festivities on Elegba Folklore Society’s Facebook and YouTube channels.
The event will feature musical and theatrical performances, food demonstrations and tastings, shopping, of course, ceremonies, activities for children, commentaries, some international check-ins and a DJ making music in the backyard.
More about the history of Juneteenth
Juneteenth, A Freedom Celebration is Virginia’s flagship Juneteenth holiday commemoration. It was first presented at the Virginia Historical Society, now the Virginia Museum of History and Culture, in 1996. It is reflective of Richmond and Virginia’s particular and poignant stories of enslavement and emancipation, and it highlights the resolve and resilience of Africa’s children in the U.S.
Juneteenth is a freedom celebration that became a tradition when, on June 19, 1865, General Gordon Granger sailed into Galveston harbor and issued a proclamation that gave freedom to a quarter of a million blacks in Texas who were still in bondage 2 1/2 years after the Emancipation Proclamation that President Abraham Lincoln issued was enacted on January 1, 1863. The tradition is so firmly rooted in Texas that it was made a state holiday in 1980, and Juneteenth has come to be regarded as the earliest African American holiday.
The freedom message reached different parts of America on various dates between 1863 and 1865, such as January 1 in Virginia, but migrated Black Texans continued the Juneteenth celebration as they moved to cities in the North and across the country. Today, this holiday is observed from California to New York.
Therefore, an instructive way of uniting these commemorations in a day of national importance is through Juneteenth National Freedom Day.