Commemorating Juneteenth
June 19th commemorates Juneteenth, a National Holiday that celebrates the oldest national commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. It’s the day Union Army Major General Gordon Granger announced that enslaved people were free, which was more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect. Armorblox supports BIPOC and underrepresented groups and we stand together against discrimination. We’ve encouraged our employees to spend this day reflecting on justice and freedom and to utilize our flexible time off policy to take time off to honor this holiday if they’d like.
The infographic below shares some information about Juneteenth and how to support and observe this day.
Some ways to observe Juneteenth
- Read the Emancipation Proclamation
- Learn more about African-American history and culture and share resources with family and friends
- Visit The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), who just released a brand-new online portal called “Talking About Race”
- Join the African American History Museum in DC - they're hosting all-day programming for their Juneteenth: A Celebration Of Resilience with music, workshops, and storytelling.
- Visit The 1619 Project or listen to The 1619 Podcast by NYT Magazine - An audio series on how slavery has transformed America, connecting past and present through the oldest form of storytelling.
- Read The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin - A national bestseller when it first appeared in 1963, The Fire Next Time galvanized the nation and gave a passionate voice to the emerging civil rights movement. Find more reading recommendations here: The Juneteenth Reading List
- Watch 13th (Netflix) or Just Mercy (Amazon) and have a discussion afterwards.
- Make a donation to social justice and civil rights organizations: 137 Ways to Donate in Support of Black Lives and Communities of Color
- Attend a march (with a mask!): Juneteenth Events around the Bay Area
- Consciously purchase from black-owned businesses and restaurants
We hope you are all staying safe and that the ongoing protests herald structural changes that our society has needed for hundreds of years.
#BlackLivesMatter