This Friday, June 19th, a wide range of local organizations will hold events and campaigns to mark Juneteenth, the oldest national commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States. But as OSI grantees Job Opportunities Task Force (JOTF), Out for Justice (OFJ) and the Baltimore Action Legal Team (BALT), explain on the Facebook post for their Juneteenth and Father’s Day Bail Out, the legacy of that date is complicated:
“On June 19, 1865, two and a half years *after* the Emancipation Proclamation, Union soldiers landed in Galveston, TX with news that slavery had ended and slaves were to be set free. While the formal institution of Black enslavement was “abolished,” it was quickly replaced with another: incarceration. This system quickly morphed into the mass incarceration of Black men and women, many of whom are incarcerated due to unaffordable bails.”
Supporters are encouraged to use the links on the Father’s Day Bail Out Facebook page to make donations to help bail out those incarcerated because of unaffordable cash bails and provide support for them once released. Additional information on JOTF’s Community Bailout Efforts are on the JOTF website.
Among other events:
- The No Boundaries Coalition, another OSI grantee, will host Juneteenth: Celebrating the Afrofuture, a discussion of “building power for a brilliant future for black people in Baltimore and throughout the country” with several speakers, including 2018 OSI Community Fellow Eric Jackson of the Black Yield Institute.
- Arena Players, the oldest continually operating African American theater in the country will host a Virtual Celebration and Discussion to “celebrate the contributions of our ancestors and discuss how to continue a legacy of art and activism.”
- The Bmore Youth Coalition will host a Juneteenth Celebration from 2:45-5:30pm on Friday at McKeldin Square.
- Baltimore Racial Justice Action will hold Juneteenth: History and Celebration from 6:30 to 7:30 pm
- Runners4Justice’s will hold a Juneteenth Virtual Run/Walk.
- The Juneteenth Baltimore Freedom Fest march will be held from 3 to 8pm, starting at Penn North and ending at Druid Hill Park.
- Reservoir Hill’s Dovecote Cafe will host a Virtual Art Bazaar on Saturday, June 2oth from 11am to 4pm at dovecotecafe.com.
