Juneteenth 2025 Blog
Hello Rising Hearts community,
JUNETEENTH | FREEDOM DAY | 1865
Indigenous solidarity and love for Black brothers and sisters. Reminder to Indigenous relatives, support your Black Indigenous kin. Celebrate Black history, voices, culture l, their resilience, and support Black owned businesses, artists, organizers and advocates!
- Rising Hearts
About Juneteenth:
June 19th, 1865 is the day when 2,000 Union troops came to Galveston TX and reached the last group of enslaved people in Texas to ensure they were freed. The Emancipation Proclamation happened 2.5 years prior on January 1, 1863, but many enslavers continued to enslave Black people and held them captive after the announcement. Full legal abolishment didn’t happen until December 1865 through the 13th Amendment, which still allowed “slavery” as a form of punishment, like the criminal justice system we see today. June 19th, Juneteenth, has become symbolic to represent freedom and Black liberation - that is still fought for to this day.
The year following 1865, freedmen in TX organized the first annual celebration called "Jubilee Day " June 19th. Following this celebration, Juneteenth commemorations featured music, bbqs, prayer services, and other activities, as Black people migrated from TX to other parts of the country as the Juneteenth tradition began to spread.
Congress passed a bill, making June 19 - Juneteenth a National Independence Day, federal holiday. Celebrations have been happening for a long time, before this ever became recognized by the Government. And this is a day of joy and to center, while still fighting racism and the systems of oppression that the government continues to perpetuate. Support Black voices, organizers, artists, creatives, musicians, athletes, teachers, lawyers, friends, and the Black community. Uplift. Protect. Respect. Don't be performative. Show Up everyday, not just on Juneteenth.
VOICES TO FOLLOW
Respect their voice. Respect their space. Learn from them. Don't be extractive. Be resourceful in your education. Compensate them. Don't flood their DM's asking questions unless solicited or approach it in a way that is respectful. Don't DM saying they are wrong. That is not your lived experience. Then compensate.
BOOK HIGHLIGHT
I’m DeAndra (Dee-On-dru) an illustrator, graphic designer, storyteller and teacher based in Washington D.C. No matter the project, my work is always bright and energetic with an imaginative flare. I especially love drawing people, joy filled celebrations, and lots of colorful quilt patterns. Last year I got to work on a dream project of mine, which was illustrating a book about Juneteenth! "Tell Me About Juneteenth" follows a curious young girl who wants to know what the first ever Juneteenth was like, so she goes around asking different members of her community until she finds the answer.
This book was so special to me for many reasons. Juneteenth is a holiday where we honor our enslaved ancestors, think about the atrocities they went through, as well as acknowledging how far we've come since then. I loved getting to draw from real life moments with my family while illustrating this book and all the characters in it! The whole book is full of so much joy and celebration, and I'm truly touched by all the positive feedback I've received from my own community who've read the book!
"Tell Me About Juneteenth" is written by Kortney Nash and published by Macmillian.
Readers can use this Bookshop.org link to purchase the book! It's a great way to support local bookstores in the area as opposed to buying from Amazon.