Public Notice
Celebrate the emancipation of Texas slaves (albeit, two and a half years late) on Juneteenth!
By Kate X Messer, Fri., June 15, 2001
The Teenth of June
Juneteenth, that's when the slaves were finally pronounced "free" here in Texas: June 19, 1865, which might as well have been the Twelfth of Never, as it came just over two and a half years after it was declared nationally. Jeeeez. Still, despite the fact that Texas was a little slow on the uptake when it came to freeing the slaves, we do boast the honor of being the only ongoing national annual recognition of the emancipation. Says a lot about U.S. as a country, don't it? We celebrate not only a day for veterans (Veterans Day), but a day for dead veterans (Memorial Day); we celebrate the sketchy "discovery" of our turf (Columbus Day); we even celebrate those dead guys on so much of our money (Presidents Day). Hey, not to begrudge any of those guys their due, but somehow, it seems we can't find it in our collective heart to acknowledge the one time when we actually got it right.
Crikey, even South Africa, which has at least as much as we do to be embarrassed about, has a slew of official public holidays that either celebrate when they finally began to "get it right" or acknowledge -- urging citizens to never forget -- the days and events when things went terribly, terribly wrong. They've got Freedom Day in April, commemorating their first national democratic elections in 1995. There's Human Rights Day and Youth Day, which acknowledge the dark days of the Sharpeville Massacre and Soweto uprisings, respectively. Heck, even their National Women's Day, National Heritage Day, and Day of Reconciliation earmark some significant turn for the better in their turgid history.
Interestingly enough, back here in the USA, efforts are underway to establish an official day marking the end of slavery. Up in Washington, Congressman Tony Hall (D-OH) (wait, isn't that Homer Simpson's constituency?) is working toward getting an official apology for slavery passed. And the day they hope to make the official U.S. emancipation day? Why, June 19, of course. In D.C., folks will simultaneously be celebrating the second annual National Day of Reconciliation & Healing as we commemorate our long-standing Juneteenth.
Austin's Eastside will be brimming with activities (and we can only hope that some day, the rest of town will see fit to join in), including the Coalition of Austin Black Artists exhibition beginning Thursday, June 21, featuring the work of well-known artists like colorful "Bydee Man" Brian Joseph and glass etcher extraordinaire Regina Thomas at the George Washington Carver Museum & Cultural Center, 1165 Angelina. Carver also invites kids to get in on the art action on Junteenth proper at the Juneteenth Sidewalk Chalk Talk contest with free cookies, lemonade, and of course, chalk! 472-4809.
Locally, there are lots of cool events: Check our community listings (p.80) for more info.
