Juneteenth

“Juneteenth has never been a celebration of victory or an acceptance of the way things are. It’s a celebration of progress. It’s an affirmation that despite the most painful parts of our history, change is possible—and there is still so much work to do.” —Barack Obama

Steps would like to invite you to join us in celebrating Juneteenth. The holiday known as Freedom Day, this is an important holiday that is mainly celebrated in the US but resonates with many of the injustices that black people around the world still face to this day.

On 19th June 1865, General Gordon Granger alongside Federal Troops had arrived at Galveston, Texas and announced that all slaves were free. Something which they were unaware of for 2 years when President Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation that declared them free. The following year free men celebrated their first Juneteenth and has continued to be celebrated for 157 years. Over the years celebrations have included festivals, concerts, cultural discussions and more.

“I think what is so often lost is the story of the ancestors and elders that kept this history going by acknowledging the day even when the larger society wouldn’t acknowledge it. Juneteenth didn’t become important because it became a national holiday, and it didn’t become important in 2020 after the unfortunate murder of George Floyd. It has always been important to the former enslaved and their descendants.” (Sam Collins, source: Celebrating Juneteenth, the Day Slavery Ended – The New York Times (nytimes.com) )

We encourage you to celebrate black joy on all days but especially on a day like today.

Take the time on Monday June 19th to wish black people in your spaces a happy Juneteenth, as we continue to recognise and celebrate the waves that the black community has made throughout history.