Juneteenth

The Juneteenth holiday commemorates an important event in the history of Black people in the United States. The Emancipation Proclamation had declared enslaved people of the United States legally free on January 1, 1863. However, the law wasn’t enforceable in areas still under the control of the Confederate Army. Following the end of the war, and more than two years after the declaration of freedom, Union Army troops reached Galveston, Texas. On June 19, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger made the order to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation throughout the state. Thereafter followed the freeing of nearly 250,000 slaves still held in captivity.

Annual Juneteenth celebrations began almost immediately after the end of the Civil War and grew steadily during Reconstruction. Significantly, some consider Juneteenth to be a “Second American Independence Day.”

On Sunday, June 23, Har Zion member Stacey Aviva Flint will speak on how and why Juneteenth should be important to us as Jews. Ms. Flint currently serves as the Director of Education and Community Engagement with the Jewish Federations’ JEDI Initiative (Jewish Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.) Ms. Flint is a longtime nonprofit professional in the areas of  Community Development and Jewish Engagement. She hails from a multicultural family of five generations and is passionate about relationship building to combat racism and antisemitism. Ms. Flint is a nationally and internationally sought speaker and writer. Moreover, she is a frequent presenter and contributor with many universities, Jewish institutions, and various coalitions of Jews of Color.

This Virtual event is only available on Zoom. The Juneteenth program will immediately follow the Shohet Daily Minyan and will use the same Zoom session. Click here to join by Zoom. If you have trouble with the link, click here for more information.