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Honoring Juneteenth A Celebration of Resilience

Dear Companions in Christ, Grace to you and peace in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This year in recognition of Juneteenth (Saturday, June 19th) we commend to you the events and resources below in preparation for how you may honor and reflect on the oldest nation-wide holiday celebrating the end of slavery in the United States. We give thanks to all of the individuals, parishes, and ministries of ECCT that have contributed to this compilation. May you find them as enriching and informative as we do. Faithfully, The Rt. Rev. Ian T. Douglas Bishop Diocesan The Rt. Rev. Laura J. Ahrens Bishop Suffragan

A Special Juneteenth Message from the ECCT Reparations Task Force DID YOU KNOW? Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. To understand Juneteenth is to begin to understand the history of this country through the lens of justice or the lack thereof. Two and a half years after President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, Major General Gordon Granger led a group of Union soldiers to Galveston, Texas to proclaim the end of the Civil War and the enslaved were free. This happened on June 19, 1865. June 19th was coined Juneteenth and continues to be celebrated to this day. (Adapted from Juneteenth.com) What sticks in your mind about Juneteenth? Answer Here.

Learn more about Juneteenth, its history, and ways to celebrate at the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Below you will find resources to help you Celebrate | Pray | Read | Watch | Listen | Follow We encourage you to engage and explore as we celebrate Juneteenth and keep reading for interesting facts about Juneteenth... like "what does Strawberry Soda have to do with Juneteenth?" Find out below!

Celebrate

Event Spotlight: 2nd Annual Juneteenth Evening Prayer from St. Luke's, New Haven and Trinity on the Green, New Haven Thursday, June 17 at 6:30 p.m. via Facebook Live Join us for a joint service between St. Luke’s, New Haven, and Trinity Church on the Green, New Haven, for Juneteenth, the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. We honor this day, even as we pray for ongoing racial healing, justice, and the liberation of all people. Join the service online.

Events across Connecticut (virtual and in-person) Northwest Juneteenth: Leaving a Legacy at Mattatuck Museum, Waterbury (Friday, June 18 from 5-7 p.m.) Southwest A Gathering to Celebrate Juneteenth – Poetry & Justice: Continuing the Conversation in Rhyme at The Mark Twain Library, Redding (Friday, June 18 at 4 p.m.) Empowering Connection on Juneteenth with the Community Mindfulness Project at The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield (Saturday, June 19 at 1 p.m.) North Central Virtual Juneteenth Celebration via Zoom from the Simsbury Public Library (Thursday, June 17 from 6:30-8 p.m.) Juneteenth Celebration at New Britain Museum of American Art (Saturday, June 19 from 11 a.m.-4 p.m.) City of Hartford Juneteenth Celebration at Black Lives Matter Mural, Trinity Street (Saturday, June 19 from 3-5 p.m.) South Central New Haven Juneteenth Food & History Tour at Trinity on the Green, New Haven (Saturday, June 19 from 2-6 p.m.) Milford Juneteenth Celebration 2021 at Milford Town Green (Saturday, June 19 from 10 a.m.-4p.m.) Northeast Juneteenth 2021 at Jillson Square Park, Willimantic (Friday, June 18 from 5-6 p.m.) Juneteenth: The Art of Independence at the Galleries at WORK_Space, Manchester (online) Southeast Juneteenth Celebration at Mystic Seaport (Saturday, June 19 from 3-5 p.m.) The Joint Chiefs concert including a tribute to Juneteenth at St. Ann's, Old Lyme (Saturday, June 19 at 6 p.m.)

For the young (and young at heart) DIY Confetti Poppers for Juneteenth from Crafting a Fun Life Easy Craft Stick Flag for Kids to Celebrate Juneteenth from Crafting a Fun Life

Did the Emancipation Proclamation free all enslaved people? Hint: The answer isn't what you'd expect! Learn more.

Pray Liturgies, Confessions, and Prayers: Juneteenth liturgical resources of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Juneteenth Prayer Service from Mercy Education Disrupt Worship Project Litanies, Confessions, and Prayers for Justice Devotionals and Spiritual Practices: An Examen for Racism from the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States An Examen for White Allies from the Ignatian Spiritual Network

For the young (and young at heart) Prayer for Martin Luther King Jr. of Alabama from Common Prayer for Children and Families Freedom, yes freedom, let it ring; so sang Martin Luther King. Freedom for you, freedom for me. For all God's children, liberty. Give us the courage to stand up tall; to march for freedom, freedom for all. Freedom, yes freedom, let it ring; so sang Martin Luther King.

What do strawberry soda, red velvet cake, and red punch have to do with Juneteenth? Find out.

Read  Articles: "So You Want to Learn About Juneteenth?" by Derrick Bryson Taylor for The New York Times “Juneteenth, Our Other Independence Day”, by Kenneth C. Davis for Smithsonian Magazine  “Why celebrating Juneteenth is more important now than ever” by P. R. Lockhart for Vox “The Story of Juneteenth” by Lynn Brown for JSTOR Daily Books: A Black Women's History of the United States by Daina Ramey Berry  Four Hundred Souls by Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi I’m Still Here by Austin Channing Brown Envisioning Emancipation: Black Americans and the End of Slavery by Deborah Willis

Children's Books: Juneteenth for Mazie by Floyd Cooper Juneteenth Jamboree by Carole Boston Weatherford Freedom's Gifts by Valerie Wilson Wesley

Juneteenth has its own flag! The red, white, and blue colors are intentional and show the former enslaved and their ancestors are free Americans! Learn more about the rest of the symbols on the flag.

Watch Feature-length Films and TV Series: Miss Juneteenth (2020), directed by Channing Godfrey Peoples Just Mercy (2020), directed by Destin Daniel Cretton Black-ish (season 4, episode 1: Juneteenth), from Kenya Barris Documentaries: 13th (2016), by Ava Duvernay The Black Church (2021), from Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Reconstruction: America after the Civil War (2019), from Henry Louis Gates, Jr. High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America (2021), from Stephen Satterfield

Children's Videos: What is Juneteenth and Why Do We Celebrate? from BrainPOP

The land for Emancipation Park in Houston was purchased in 1872 by the black community and became primary space for celebrating Juneteenth. Learn more.

Listen Podcasts: The History and Meaning of Juneteenth (2020), from The New York Times' The Daily The History of Juneteenth (2021), from NPR's Fresh Air Austin Channing Brown and Brené Brown (2020), from Unlocking Us Music: Juneteenth Music Festival from Denver, including live performances Songs to listen to on Juneteenth: Anderson. Paak, Teyana Taylor, Public Enemy, John Legend and more from Chicago Tribune Lift Every Voice and Sing from St. Paul's, Shelton

For the young (and young at heart) Juneteenth Vibes: A Family-Friendly Playlist Celebrating Blackness

Juneteenth has gone by many names Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Liberation Day, and Emancipation Day.

Follow Facebook: Austin Channing Brown (@austinchanningbrown) author of "I'm Still Here" Absalom Jones Center for Racial Healing (@CenterforRacialHealing) A brave space of racial healing and reconciliation Twitter: The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center (@TheKingCenter) dedicated to nonviolence and creating beloved community April Reign (@reignofapril) creator of the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag Instagram: Cole Arthur Riley (@blackliturgies) A young, black woman offering deep and poignant meditations Lokelani Alabanza (@yokiyanifanza) Nashville chef who uses ice cream to tell Black stories (including a flavor called Juneteenth!)

A excerpt from "On Juneteenth" by Annette Gordon-Reed Read by St. Luke's, New Haven & Trinity on the Green, New Haven

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