Celebrating Juneteenth, Honouring Resilience, and Renewing Calls for Justice
Quianna Canada Calls to Lift Every Black American Voice on Juneteenth
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND—American human rights defender, Quianna Canada, extends heartfelt wishes for a meaningful and joyous Juneteenth to all Black Americans, celebrating a pivotal moment in our journey toward freedom.
“Juneteenth is a celebration commemorating the end of chattel slavery in Texas for Black Americans. It is also a reminder of our ongoing call to replace a system of racial oppression with a system of justice,” said Ms. Canada.
Today, Black Americans will gather with family and friends and will savour the flavours of our culture and the warmth of our shared history. But on this day, we must also celebrate our ancestors’ resilience.
With this reminder, we must recommit to the unfinished work of ending racial discrimination against Black Americans in the nation and calling on the U.S. to lead the charge on reparations for slave descendants.
History of Juneteenth
June 19th commonly known as Juneteenth, and formerly known as Emancipation Day or Jubilee Day, marks the day that federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1865, taking control of the state and freeing all enslaved people.1
Juneteenth reached new heights in 1872 when a group of Black ministers and businessmen established Emancipation Park in Houston, Texas.2
During year 2020, following the death of George Floyd, lawmakers reintroduced a bill to make Juneteenth a federal holiday.
Call-to-Action
Today, Ms. Canada calls on the U.S. government to sign an Executive Order to protect Black Americans against anti-Black racism, which includes, but is not limited to:
racialised surveillance by state and federal police departments and agencies,
hate crimes against Black Americans (both on the left and the right),
vigilante violence; and
political repression and/or transnational repression while abroad.
“The U.S. must be a nation that protects all of its citizens, not just a few,” said Ms. Canada.
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USA Today, ‘What is Juneteenth? The holiday's history and significance, explained.’ (YouTube 17 June 2021).
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