Celebrate Juneteenth

About Juneteenth

Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration honoring the emancipation of slavery in the United States. President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation was issued January 1, 1863. Communications of the Emancipation Proclamation and the Civil War’s end was slow to reach everyone across the United States. On June 19, 1865 the news of the emancipation of slavery finally reached the remaining enslaved Africans in Galveston, Texas. Juneteenth celebrates the official emancipation of slavery and marks the belated liberation of Black people in America.

For many, Juneteenth is also seen as a representation of the ways in which the liberation of Black people in America has been delayed by ongoing systemic oppression. The holiday may prompt communities to consider promises of freedom not yet fully realized for Black people in the United States.

As a consumer-owned cooperative with equity and inclusion as core values we recognize that there is more work to be done within our co-op, communities and country. In the midst of the fight for true liberation of Black bodies, Seward Co-op stands with community in calling for justice and calling for peace.

Literature on Juneteenth

Continue learning with any of these staff recommended readings. Books can be a powerful tool for learning and connection. The following staff recommendations includes poetry, children’s books and adult non-fiction. Consider picking up a copy from a neighborhood library, local bookstore or supporting any number of online Black-owned bookstores.

Juneteenth for Mazie
All Different Now: Juneteenth, the First Day of Freedom
Stony the Road: Reconstruction, White Supremacy, and the Rise of Jim Crow
Juneteenth

Juneteenth by Arthur Kroll

January 1, 1863 was the official day for President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation;

Juneteenth

January 1, 1863 was the official day for President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation;
But, it was two and a half years later before the start of the freedom celebration.
Many attempts were made to explain this delay;
It has remained one of the great mysteries until this day.

One story says the messenger of freedom was murdered on his way to Texas;
This was supposedly the first one of the conspiracy theory nexus.
Another on reports the land owners censored the news to maintain their labor force;
One of the more popular stories, but who was the source?

Yet another tale of federal troops allowing another harvest of cotton;
Of all the dirty tricks, this one was the most rotten.
Regardless of whether any stories gives the correct news;
Many good people in Texas remained without freedom and singing the blues.

Finally in June of 1865, Major General Gordon Granger with a flag and a gun;
Stormed the shores of a Texas town called Galveston.
The Generals first order of business was to announce the news of freedom;
And this time he brought along enough Union troops to make the people heed them.

Some people reacted with shock, while others reacted with complete jubilation;
The news of this day finally spread all over the nation.
Most people could not wait to leave the plantation and start living free;
So, from their home state they started to flee.

Regardless of where they went, they were followed with freedom’s challenges;
These challenges came from making decisions and environmental changes.
They never forgot that joyous 19^th day of June;
When people once enslaved could finally sing their freedom tune.

The celebration started with reassuring and praying;
The adults were eating and drinking while the children were playing.
It was also a time for the reuniting of family members;
It was one of the happiest days many of them remembers.

Today it is a day of pilgrimage to that town;
Let the shouts of freedom for all make a holy sound.
Soon the day will come when in unison we say;
“Forever and ever all Americans will celebrate Juneteenth, the freedom holiday”!

Free at Last by Sojourner Kincaid Rolle

After 300 years of forced labor;
hands bound, descendants of Africa
picked up their souls

Free at Last

After 300 years of forced labor;
hands bound, descendants of Africa
picked up their souls – all that they
owned – leaving shackles where they fell
on the ground, headed for the nearest
resting place to be found.
Some went no further than the shack
out back; oft only a lean-to shed –
hard ground for a bed; hard labor, no
pay, but the will to survive.
‘though they couldn’t call it their own,
They still declared, “this is my home.”
Some went to the nearest place of the
Lord; to some hollow place in the
brush or to a clearing in a grove
where folk gathered ‘neath a still standing
tree and sang, “Thank you
Jesus, for delivering me.”
Some ran as far as they could go
into the service of the man
on the neighboring land
Working for a pittance
and a little plot of space
much like they did as a slave.
Some made a beeline for nearest saloon
singing a song, picking a tune;
toasting the Union and Lady Luck,
settin’ da flo, dancing the jig and the buck;
patting themselves on their whip-scarred backs;
carousing from night into day.
Some went the way of the river,
following the Rio Grande
or swimming the up-flowing Mississip.
Hastening to get as far as they could –
thrusting their futures into sanctuary and
friendless unknown territory.
Some kept running like a stone on a
hill – never to grasp a firm place to rest.
Some even went to the promised land;
Wherever they went alone or abreast
At the end of their journey, they cried,
“I’ve done my best.”
Every year in the Lone Star State, and
in towns from sea to sea,
sons and daughters of the ones who
were held celebrate the time when
their forebears got the news –
“the war was over; all men were free.”
They will always remember;
they will never forget Juneteenth
When their forebears could shout,
“Free at Last! Hallelujah, I’m free.”

Sojourner Kincaid Rolle

Juneteenth Celebration

Across the country, from the late nineteenth century through today, Juneteenth celebrations have often included parades, community events, and barbecues. This year, during the global pandemic, Juneteenth celebrations may look different as we navigate how to gather safely with community. At the co-op, we see Juneteenth as a perfect opportunity to celebrate African-American food traditions and influential – though all-to-often overlooked– chefs like Edna Lewis.

Edna grew up in Freetown, Virginia – a community founded by emancipated enslaved individuals – where neighbors worked cooperatively toward self-sufficiency. Her mother passed on the family’s cultural heritage by teaching Lewis to cook. Though, Lewis went onto publish four cookbooks in an era of celebrity chefs, she was never acknowledged until after her death for her contributions to the farm-to-table movement. In one of her most notable books, The Taste of Country Cooking, Lewis graciously takes readers on a year-long culinary adventure that highlights the seasonal dishes from her rural upbringing that were enjoyed by many during Emancipation Day, Revival Day and Juneteenth celebrations.

However, you decide to celebrate – whether that’s firing up the grill at home with those in your household or enjoying a shared menu plan with distant friends – Seward Co-op has a number of items to supplement celebratory meals.