Juneteenth: Freedom Dreaming of Black Liberation
On June 19, 1865, our ancestors in Galveston, Texas received news they were no longer enslaved, despite the emancipation proclamation of 1863. While the vision of freedom is still being realized generations later we remember our ancestors resistance, joy, and perseverance.
June 19, 1866 marked the first official celebration our liberated ancestors honored Juneteenth in Galveston, TX, sometimes referred to as Jubilee Day. For decades afterwards, Juneteenth spread across the US where Black Americans held celebrations for thousands of people rivaling the 4th of July and we continue to honor our ancestors legacy today.
Dear Kin,
When you get this letter it’s because I’m long gone
My body is no longer of this earth but part of the soil
Embedded in the roots
Ground up into the dirt
Part of nature
But I’m always close to you
Lingering in the breeze of the wind
A rustling life force snapping branches of willow trees
Raging along the current of rivers
And casting protective shadows over you in mountains
This is your reminder that while you’re scared
And stumbling through the dark
You have nothing to be afraid of
Because I watch over you
I’m in the moon and the stars and the sun
Blessing you each time you close your eyes to rest
And each morning
Peaking through your window to wake you from your slumber
See when my body was laid in the ground
Like the ancestors before me
And the ancestors before you
We never left
We walk by your side
Each day we are here
Watching over you
Protecting you
Guiding you
It is true we were stolen
Taken from the coastal shores of our homeland
Through the long voyage across the sea some of us revolted
Taking to the ocean
Those of us who couldn’t escape the ships
Were beaten into submission
By a weaker soulless human
Forced to learn a new language and stripped of our power
Told we were worth less than the blood pulsing through our veins
And the air inhaled into our lungs
But the truth they never wanted you to know
Me to know
Us to know
Is we are not of this earth
Our souls are endless and continuous connections of each other
Reformed every time one of us is laid to rest
And born into this world
Our bodies are onyx
Speckles of gold
Blended with cocoa
Sienna, mahogany, and charcoal
Created from the purest life forms
The originator of peoples
Perfect and beautiful and pure magic
But they would have you believe
We didn’t have any fight in us
That we were docile
That we complied
Sat in despair and didn’t rebel
But the very fact you exist today is proof of our rebellion
Proof that dreaming is not a waste
But how we create the world as it should be
It is your right to know peace
To live freely above the confines of oppression
They won’t tell you we didn’t wait for a piece of paper
For formal instructions on those plantations
Permission to be whole and free
We didn’t wait for someone to come tell us what we knew all along
That we are human deserving of a full life and safety and joy
We chose our own freedom
Rebellion was our freedom
Intellect was our freedom
Excellence was our freedom
Resistance was our freedom
Revolution was our freedom
My Beloved Kin,
It is your divine truth to run wild and free
Towards the dreams you paint in your mind and hold in your heart
Dream of the house surrounded by fields of flowers
Dream of love that holds your spirit close in its heart
And allow it to envelop within your soul
Dream of the life you want to create from your body
Dream of the ocean and the sand and the breeze
Dream of the life you want for your soul
Dream of freedom in everything you do
Live a full life
Like the one we dreamt for you
Because that dream is your rebellion
And you will have to fight your way to freedom
So carry me with you
Carry me in your soul as you dance and sing and shout
As you protest demanding what is owed to you and yours
Carry me with you as you face another day
To deal with vile inhumanity
Carry me with you when you feel scared
And I will wrap you in my arms
And when you get tired of kicking down doors
And crawling through windows
And making something out of nothing
Rest
Rest your body
Rest your mind
Rest your heart
Rest your soul
And then gather your strength
Remember your existence is so powerful
Only the weak and pitiful use violence to keep you small
Remember they tried it and been trying it
But like your ancestors you do not wait for papers
For someone to give you the map and directions
You do not beg and plead with someone without a soul
You do not wait for life to be lived with permission
You do not put your trust in being liberated from those who profit off your oppression
You do not wait for those in power to give you equality
You take it
You create it
You build it
You protect it
You dream it
Live in your undeniable power
Because as long as you live
As long as you walk this earth
As long as your heart beats
You must take your freedom
And you must keep dreaming
While you run free