WHAT IS JUNETEENTH? Today marks the celebration of Juneteenth, a holiday commemorating June 19, 1865, when Union army soldiers arrived in Galveston TX to announce the end of the Civil War and the end of slavery. It came almost two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. In 1968 Juneteenth received a major boost in when, after Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination, his Poor People’s Campaign held a Solidarity Day in Washington, D.C. In 1996 Texas became the first to make it a state holiday, signed into law by then Gov. George W. Bush. In 2021, Pres. Joe Biden signed it into federal holiday status. This year it resonates again as activists and patriotic citizens continue to work for change across the country.
I used to live in Williamsport PA. In the mid-19th Century, Williamsport was a relay station for runaway slaves and the Underground Railroad, and there are historical markers around the area today. As a musician and coordinator, I served on eight Juneteenth celebrations between 1999 and 2010. In 2002 I recorded “United,” a song largely written by ex-football player Marlon Walker and powerfully sung by gospel singer Henrietta Hadley.
“United” was commissioned by Penn State University and was used in a video that addressed racism issues going on around the campus. Check out the mixes here:
