Juneteenth / Stereohyped

Don't You?

Today is Juneteenth, the unofficial holiday that marks the day in 1865 — which happened to have been two months after Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomatox — that slaves in Galveston, Tex., finally got the word that they were free. Celebrations ensued, then and more than 100 years later. I've never actually attended a Juneteenth celebration — my family and friends must have never been into it — but across the country, and particularly in Texas, the day (or the weekend before or after the day) is a cause for huge cookouts and parades that are defining events in the lives of many African Americans.

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Jun 19, 2008 · posted by Lauren Williams, Stereohyped · Link · 10 Responses

HMMMMMMMMM "[Buffalo, New York's] Juneteenth Festival drew a smaller crowd to Martin Luther King Park on Sunday, but still entertained festival-goers with a variety of events and activities celebrating African-American heritage and culture. … In addition to traditional events like the parade, this year’s festival included a re-enactment of a slave auction that took place throughout the two days. The actors stayed in character after the performance to answer questions from the crowd. … Debra Johnson, who has attended the festival nearly every year, said she couldn’t attend the re-enactment. 'Emotionally, I wasn’t ready for it,' Johnson said, adding that it was different to read and hear about such auctions then it was to actually see it."

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At This Year's Juneteenth Celebrations We Exercised Our Freedom

To Pull People From Their Cars And Beat Them To Death

Thanks, Juneteenth revelers in Austin and Milwaukee, for giving people like Matt Drudge the ammunition they need to prove that we have no clue how to peacefully assemble. Not even to celebrate something like our ancestors' freedom from slavery.

In Austin:

A crowd attacked and killed a passenger in a vehicle that had struck and injured a child, police said Wednesday.

Police believe 2,000 to 3,000 people were in the area for a Juneteenth celebration when the attack occurred Tuesday night. The man who was killed had been trying to stop the group from attacking the vehicle's driver when the crowd turned on him, authorities said.

The Austin Police Department identified the victim as David Rivas Morales, 40. The child was taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

More foolishness after the jump.

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Jun 20, 2007 · posted by Lauren Williams, Stereohyped · Link · 3 Responses

The 142nd Anniversary of Juneteenth

Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, a document that supposedly gave slaves their freedom, on January 1, 1863. Since these were pre-Internet, pre-television, pre-black-people-being-allowed-to-read times, interested parties (read: slaves) in Texas didn't hear about this until Union soldiers strolled into Galveston on June 19, 1865, bearing really good news.

June 19, eventually shortened to Juneteenth, became an annual emancipation celebration in Texas, and slowly trickled into other states until it became a national (although unofficial, in most places) holiday. Today, it's celebrated across the country with marches, festivals, and barbecues. Happy Juneteenth!

Jun 19, 2007 · posted by Lauren Williams, Stereohyped · Link · 6 Responses