Juneteenth: Freedom Day

Juneteenth celebrates the freedom granted to those enslaved. We remember the stories of pain and joy, struggle and triumph. Let us dance and sing, and tell these stories loud and clear. 

On this day, “It's an opportunity to both look back but to look ahead to make sure that that notion of freedom and the fragility of it is always protected and celebrated." — Lonnie Bunch, 14th Secretary of the Smithsonian, Educator, and Historian

 “When day comes we step out of the shade 

Aflame and unafraid

The new dawn blooms as we free it

For there is always light       

If only we're brave enough to see it

If only we're brave enough to be it."

-Amanda Gorman, National Youth Poet Laureate, Poet, Activist

Let us join in the celebration of this day each and every time we have the opportunity to “proclaim liberty to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, and freedom to the oppressed.” (Luke 4:18).

 Sr. Patricia Torre, DW