Last year, the sixteenth came to Berlin, Germany.
On June 19, about 100 people gathered in Bethanien – an old hospital in the Berlin area of Kreuzberg that since the 1970s has served as a center of artists and art exhibitions – commemorating the liberation of African American slaves. Since Bethanien’s history was a prosperous political center, it was an ideal place for people to celebrate the liberation of black Americans.
Organized by an African American woman living in Berlin, the day-to-day celebration features people singing, reading poetry, and even drawing. Although our bodies were shaking from the cold weather and the constant rain that fell all day, our spirits were warm because of the outpouring of love.
I’m embarrassed to admit it, but this was the first time I had ever attended a seventh festival. I had never had such an experience before before I went to Berlin from the United States. Although that connection is not my own.
Growing up in Florida, I didn’t study for nineteen years in school. Also, I was not taught the exact details of slavery as much as I would like. Much of what I know about Black American history, I learned outside of school. I was curious and already felt like a black woman in America, so I trained myself against racism with the help and guidance of black librarians at my local library next to my elders. I learned as much as I could about slavery, racism, and black hatred. I learned about the Haitian revolution and how my parents fought for peaceful slavery and education in France. I learned about Bayard Rustin, an African-American prostitute who worked to ensure that homosexuality was included in the Civil Rights movement and produced what Martin Luther King did. However, I did not really know about fifteen and its importance.
The seventh, in conjunction with June 19, commemorates the abolition of slavery in the United States under the leadership of President Abraham Lincoln in the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation, announced by the Union General in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865.
Also known as Independence Day, Jubilee Day, and Liberation Day, the Sixth anniversary has been celebrated annually for over a century. Many African Americans, especially Texans, have been writing today about setting up conferences, parishes and picnics, reading, poetry, and just enjoying their release. African American professor Brittney Cooper recently wrote about her experience on vacation in an article entitled Is Juneteenth for Everyone? “Nineteen, for me, is always just a living thing, which I remembered before I knew I was doing,” he wrote. “I remember learning the name in the book, when I was a teenager, and I realize that my mother used to take me to our HBCU camp every summer, it always happens on the 16th weekend.”
Texas also held its seventh holiday in 1980 and 46 other countries and the District of Columbia followed suit. But in many countries, such as our homeland Florida, the 15th has not found interest so far.
The May 25, 2020 police assassination of George Floyd, an unarmed African American man, brought many demonstrations and racist sentiments to the US. This led to the fifteenth coming and going to appear nationwide and led to more invitations to state holidays. Earlier this week, President Joe Biden responded to the call and signed a law banning June 19.
Last year’s national team, it didn’t just bring fifteen to the attention of the masses and become a public holiday. It also prompted many scholars and human rights activists to begin debating how history is being taught and recognized in the US.
People began calling for an end to the cleansing of American history and the celebration of apartheid in the country. Images of slaves, separatists, and colonizers have been removed. Recently, the US Board of Geographic Names voted to remove the word “Negro” from about 20 places in Texas. Not only were these names inappropriate and disgusting to black people, but they were also evidence of racial discrimination in Texan, as well as in the US.
Since the assassination of Floyd and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, there has been a call for more people to have Black American history viewed, discussed and fully respected. Proponents of her case have been working to make the actual transcript of this statement available online. Proponents of her case have been working to make the actual transcript of this statement available online. Wawo kuyambira chaka chaka akufuna chaka chaka chaka chaka chaka chaka chaka chaka
Indeed, if we look at Texas, we see that Black History in government is not just about slavery. For example, Aleshia Anderson, a social worker born in Lockhart, Texas, can follow her parents to St John’s Colony – a group founded by freed slaves in the early 1870’s. “She didn’t have as much wealth as Black Wall Street, but Most of us are still proud of the place, “he told me.
Black people have always been associated with Texas history. Not only did black slaves really build the government – clearing forests, harvesting crops and building houses – but they remained an important part of the political, political, economic and artistic movement after their release. Although there were many tensions among black people in the US, they built, designed, persevered, and this should be appreciated
Today, we are on a turning point in the United States. Racial and justice demands are growing every day. The road to true racial justice, however, has many obstacles. And just by looking at and understanding history we can create a better future for everyone.
As Annette Gordon-Reed wrote in her book On Juneteenth, “History is about people and events in places and events, as well as how things have changed over time in ways that make the past different from our time, and understand that this change. it was inevitable. ”
If we look at history unmistakably, leaving the prejudices written in us and racism behind us, we can clearly see what steps we must take to achieve real racial equality in America – revenge, revenge on the oppressed.
Only nineteen will not fix the racial differences in the US. However, the holiday gives Americans the opportunity to see history from the oppressed (rather than oppressed), celebrate what they have done in America and acknowledge the suffering of black Americans.
Very little has been done to reduce the scourge of slavery and the centuries-old elections that took place for black Americans. Even the slightest has been done to please the way black people have experienced such atrocities. This is why the sixteenth, a holiday celebrating liberation, is not only important but very important.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editor of Al Jazeera.
