All About Advocacy

Juneteenth and beyond

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 –

Juneteenth is a holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. It is also called Emancipation Day or Juneteenth Independence Day. The name “Juneteenth” references the date of the holiday, combining the words “June” and “nineteenth.”

For non-Black allies, Juneteenth is a great opportunity to show solidarity by volunteering your time and/or resources to support Black community members. Consider volunteering at a Juneteenth event, giving money directly to Black community members, or working with local Black-led organizations.

Here in Gettysburg, one way to appropriately acknowledge the holiday is to visit the Gettysburg Black History Museum.  This museum tells the story of the approximately 280 African Americans living here as free men and women during the Civil War.  Its purpose is to balance American History as we are most familiar with it – “weaving the threads of our history in our own words.”

Another way is to check out local historian Deb McCauslin’s available tours and presentations at https://www.gettysburghistories.com/about. Here, you can arrange to learn about stories of the Underground Railroad in Adams County, the Yellow Hill Cemetery, Kitty Payne and her children, and African American voices at Gettysburg, among other stories. Ms. McCauslin recently led an Echoes from the Past Tour for the YWCA Gettysburg & Adams County that was critically acclaimed by the participants.

Yet another way is to visit the wayside marker at the Lincoln Cemetery on Long Lane.  While entrance to the cemetery is not available, you can visit the marker and see the burial sites of African American citizens and Civil War veterans of Gettysburg.

If you consider yourself more of a reader, I can recommend All That She Carried (a National Book Award winner) by Tiya Miles, which tells the story of a single object handed down through three generations of Black women. Or one of these oldies but goodies – The Keepers of the House by Shirley Grau (Pulitzer Prize 1965) or Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston.  I also recently read The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd which led me down the rabbit hole of finding out more about abolitionist sisters Sarah and Elizabeth Grimke.

And, for a more complete look at the holiday itself, check out the information at the National Museum of African American History and Culture – https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/what-juneteenth. Or better yet, plan a visit to this museum, the 19^th in the Smithsonian Institution, at 1400 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC.

Even though the story has never been tidy, and Black folks have had to march and fight for every inch of our freedom, our story is nonetheless one of progress.

—Michelle Obama –

Finally, remember that you can recycle glass food/beverage containers on the first Saturday of every month, from 9 to 12, at the Emergency Services Center on Greenamyer Lane, off Granite Station Road.