Celebrating Liberation Narratives on Juneteenth with Intelligent Mischief
"Juneteenth is not a Texas thing or a Black thing. It's an American thing."
- Opal Lee (known as the "Grandmother of Juneteenth")
"History is not the past. It is the present. We carry our history with us. We are our history."
-James Baldwin
Juneteenth changed the narrative in many history books regarding when “freedom” was legally won to end slavery. Many of us grew up with history books proclaiming a narrative that President Lincoln freed the enslaved people through the Emancipation Proclamation and then everything was magically free and fair for Black people in this country.
Juneteenth changed the narrative about freedom being initiated by a great white savior, the idea of President Lincoln, by opening up awareness that a long 2 years after the emancipation proclamation, enslaved Americans were finally informed of their freedom in Galveston, Texas through the presence of a General and Union troops. And, only in the last few years, was this delayed freedom acknowledged by making Juneteenth a federal holiday.
What is often not said is that chattle slavery was a global project of entrenched relationships and networks of wealth and power, and that there was little to no infrastructure to enforce that freedom for Black people in America who were previously enslaved, and therefore, racial segregation and discrimination in many institutions, incarceration, inequality in housing, healthcare and education, and the workplace continued and continues to this day. Though many Black Americans long celebrated Juneteenth as a day to acknowledge the rebellions, the resistance and the Abolitionist movement led by enslaved Black people that effectively ended legal slavery, it is now for all of us to remember to continue the struggle against systemic and structural racism and an extractive economy and move towards the path to liberation and freedom.
As part of our celebration and uplifting of the liberation narrative of Juneteenth, we are collaborating with Intelligent Mischief to celebrate their work in honoring traditions of Black radical imagination.
"Black radicalism, in its truest form, is fundamentally about the freedom to imagine and create new realities, new social relations, and new societies." - Robin DG Kelley.
Black radical imagination is a conceptual framework and practice that envisions transformative possibilities beyond the constraints of existing oppressive systems. It involves using creative and visionary thinking to imagine and strive for a future where social justice, equality, and liberation are fully realized for Black people and other marginalized communities. Key aspects of Black radical imagination include: visionary thinking, speaking truth to power, intersectionality, revolutionary change, collective action, artistic and cultural expression and historical grounding.
Check out this video and let us know your thoughts by sending us comments or posting in IG!