06/19/2026
Happy Juneteenth!
Today marks 161 years since Union troops in Galveston announced their intent to enforce emancipation in Texas. Every year since, Juneteenth has been a celebration of Black liberation and a refusal to let the work of freedom be called finished.
This Juneteenth arrives in the midst of major attacks on Black freedom: the Supreme Court's destruction of the Voting Rights Act, white supremacists' re-imposition of Jim Crow maps across the South in a direct assault on Black political power, and last week's raid on the offices of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative. These actions are blatant attempts to prevent Black and Brown people from voting, seize control of elections, and entrench minority rule.
Let this Juneteenth be a celebration and a call to continue widening the narrow, winding path towards freedom.
Next Saturday, June 27th at 6:00 pm in Hyde Park, JCUA's Kol Or Jews of Color Caucus is hosting its 9th Annual Juneteenth Havdalah, celebrating African American culture and liberation through music, dance, song, and learning.
From the Horn of Africa to the Cape of Good Hope to Elmina Castle, from the West Indies to Rio de Janeiro to Natchez, throughout the Black Atlantic the cries, songs, and hopes for liberation echo across the generations.
All are welcome to join! Register at jcua.org/juneteenth
