Literature Link for June 19, 2022 — Juneteenth!

• “Juneteenth” A Poem by Noah Griffin. “ The Congress was divided.
The Cabinet as well. / Abe did his best to hide it. / And no one did he tell. He meant to sign an order / To deal the South a blow. / The Mason Dixon border / And the Rebel states below”. https://constitutingamerica.org/june-19-1865-juneteenth-commemoration-of-the-end-of-slavery-in-the-united-states-guest-essayist-noah-griffin/

• “What is Juneteenth?” This is an excellent video presentation about the history of this holiday. The comments are worth reading as well. Most responses indicate that we didn’t learn about this in school. [under 5 mins] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3aQjTy328o

• Juneteenth Special: Historian Clint Smith on Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America. This is a riveting conversation with Amy Goodman, the anchor of DemocracyNow! [27 minutes] He talks about his new book How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery. Also is a short quote from Miss Opal Lee, considered the grandmother of Juneteenth.

https://www.democracynow.org/2022/6/20/juneteenth_special_historian_clint_smith_on?utm_source=Democracy+Now%21&utm_campaign=6fbf8a3c06-Daily_Digest_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_fa2346a853-6fbf8a3c06-192950497

• “The Illusion of Freedom — A Poem for Juneteenth” [a short poem film]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01dFUjOZtSQ

• We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices by editors Wade Hudson & Cheryl Willis Hudson. Click on the “Look Inside” feature to read the powerful introduction.

“ What do we tell our children when the world seems bleak, and prejudice and racism run rampant? With 96 lavishly designed pages of original art and prose, fifty diverse creators lend voice to young activists. Featuring poems, letters, personal essays, art, and other works, this anthology empowers the nation’s youth to listen, learn, and build a better tomorrow.” The “Listen” feature is

an audio of part of the introduction. We should add this to our church library. https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Resist-Raise-Our-Voices/dp/052558045X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?crid=24VL2TIJAU6OZ&dchild=1&keywords=we+rise+we+resist+we+raise+our+voices&qid=1610828934&sprefix=we+rise+we+ri,aps,469&sr=8-1&linkCode=sl1&tag=wear03e-20&linkId=7f3b6c945fd90a3d0c84f9bf579548fa&language=en_US

In faith,

Dale Dunnigan