New York, NY – On Thursday June 19, close to 50 New Yorkers assembled to honor the radical legacy of Juneteenth by protesting ICE presence in their city and state. The protest was organized by Equality for Flatbush, a Brooklyn-based organization which focuses on issues facing oppressed people in the Flatbush community.

The protesters gathered outside of 26 Federal Plaza, the location of ICE headquarters in Lower Manhattan. They chanted “No hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here!” and “How do you spell racist? I, C, E!”

Aside from being led by Equality for Flatbush, other New York based organizations were present, including members from Queer Liberation March, Justice Committee, and the New York Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression. Additionally, members of Palestine solidarity organizations were present, and led chants of “From the river to the sea, all our people will be free!”

Speakers emphasized the interconnectedness between the struggles for Black liberation, for an end to ICE terror, for queer liberation, and for a free Palestine. All the while the common thread of honoring Juneteenth was woven throughout.

The Juneteenth protest was one of multiple events that took place across the city, ranging from social events and celebrations to protests.

#NewYorkNY #NY #OppressedNationalities #AfricanAmerican #Juneteenth #ImmigrantRights #ICE #NYAARPR #NAARPR

Milwaukee, WI – Juneteenth or Jubilee Day is celebrated by people all across the country every year on June 19. It is a celebration of the day enslaved peoples in Texas found out they were free on June 19, 1865, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. This day is celebrated by Black Americans across the United States by gathering, drinking strawberry soda, and eating red velvet cake, red beans and rice, and watermelon.

Watermelons were one of the first fruits grown by newly freed people, who made a living by selling them, and strawberry soda was most likely one of the first drinks enjoyed by newly freed people who couldn’t have it while in bondage. Other red foods are eaten to represent the blood of the enslaved.

“Since the uprisings, due to police violence against Black people, this Juneteenth resonates deeper than before as we are fighting for our own freedoms against the modern day slavery we face due to over policing and the prison industrial complex,” said Aminata Ngom, a member of the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression. “Knowing our ancestors faced similar oppressive systems is heartbreaking and Juneteenth acts as a reminder of what we are fighting for and why the fight must continue.”

Here in Milwaukee, the Black Wmnz Emancipation March was held starting at Sojourner Truth Peace Center and ending in Alice’s Garden for a block party with performances from local poets, speakers and musicians. The chants during the march were inclusive of all Black lives and led by Black trans women in the community.

The block party acted as a space to celebrate the day and take an emotional break from what has been, and continues to be, a very heavy summer. The majority of attendees were wearing masks and COVID-19 testing was encouraged by the organizers.

#MilwaukeeWI #PeoplesStruggles #AfricanAmerican #Juneteenth

Fort Lauderdale, FL – About 400 members of the surrounding communities gathered in downtown Fort Lauderdale to commemorate Juneteenth and demand an end to police violence. The event was sponsored by several local organizations, including SEIU Local 32BJ, Black Lives Matter Alliance of Broward, Broward Dream Defenders, and the New Florida Majority. The event began at 3 p.m. at Bubier Park, where those in attendance listened to speeches, chanted, and even danced.

The atmosphere was both festive and somber, joyful yet ripe with anger. As the protesters marked the holiday meant to celebrate the ending of slavery in the United States, they also raised several demands to the city of Fort Lauderdale and the Broward County commission, including: reallocating millions from the Fort Lauderdale Police budget to local education and mental health services, demilitarizing the city’s police force, and holding the several killer cops within the county’s police forces accountable for their crimes.

The rally turned into a march throughout downtown Fort Lauderdale, with local SEIU union members (largely Haitian workers from the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport) providing Caribbean-style music throughout, with drums and horns in the typical Haitian “Rara” fashion. The instruments and dancing gave the march a true celebratory atmosphere. Marchers chanted “Black lives matter,” and No justice, no peace,” and “I can’t breathe,” in tempo with the music.

Protesters stopped at several major intersections throughout the march to give speeches, and once in front the Broward County Jail the horns and drums brought those inside to their windows, waving at the protesters below and banging on their windows in beat with the horns and drums.

At one intersection outside of the county commission building, Haitian-American workers spoke out (at times in Creole) against the unsafe conditions and low pay they face as private sub-contractors at the airport, emphasizing the importance of a strong labor movement and strong unions.

Other Juneteenth rallies were also held throughout South Florida, including at the Torch of Friendship in downtown Miami and in Pompano Beach.

#FortLauderdaleFL #OppressedNationalities #PeoplesStruggles #AfricanAmerican #ChicanoLatino #PoliceBrutality #Juneteenth #StopPoliceCrimes

New York, NY – At noon, June 19, several hundred gathered outside of City Hall Park to celebrate, rally and march for Juneteenth. It was the first of several dozen actions happening throughout the boroughs and was called by the December 12th Movement.

Dozens upon dozens of the red, black and green flags were waving in the hands of protesters, as music played. The organizers ensured that protesters were wearing masks and kept social distance by lining them up to march.

This year’s Juneteenth has reached mainstream levels of attention as the country enters its 22nd day of protesting for Black lives. As protests were ignited by George Floyd’s murder at the hands of cops in Minneapolis, the demands have expanded and grown to demanding the arrest of the cops who murdered Breonna Taylor and Tony McDade, to the defund and community control of the police.

In the past years, progressive forces celebrate Juneteenth as it marks Freedom Day or Emancipation Day. On June 19, 1865 the Union Army arrived in Galveston, Texas to pronounce the end of slavery. Formerly enslaved people took to the streets and celebrated that day, and since then it’s been marked as a day to celebrate.

With this round of protests in 2020, many mayors and governors have been making declarations to make Juneteenth a state paid holiday as they attempt to appease to protesters who have no intention of slowing down.

The protesters in City Hall Park circled the park and then were joined by several other hundreds from another march that had started in a different part of the city. The march ended at Wall Street, and many protesters continued with other marches that were planned for the day.

#NewYorkNY #AfricanAmerican #Juneteenth #GeorgeFloyd

New York, NY – At noon, June 19, several hundred gathered outside of City Hall Park to celebrate, rally and march for Juneteenth. It was the first of several dozen actions happening throughout the boroughs and was called by the December 12th Movement.

Dozens upon dozens of the red, black and green flags were waving in the hands of protesters, as music played. The organizers ensured that protesters were wearing masks and kept social distance by lining them up to march.

This year’s Juneteenth has reached mainstream levels of attention as the country enters its 22nd day of protesting for Black lives. As protests were ignited by George Floyd’s murder at the hands of cops in Minneapolis, the demands have expanded and grown to demanding the arrest of the cops who murdered Breonna Taylor and Tony McDade, to the defund and community control of the police.

In the past years, progressive forces celebrate Juneteenth as it marks Freedom Day or Emancipation Day. On June 19, 1865 the Union Army arrived in Galveston, Texas to pronounce the end of slavery. Formerly enslaved people took to the streets and celebrated that day, and since then it’s been marked as a day to celebrate.

With this round of protests in 2020, many mayors and governors have been making declarations to make Juneteenth a state paid holiday as they attempt to appease to protesters who have no intention of slowing down.

The protesters in City Hall Park circled the park and then were joined by several other hundreds from another march that had started in a different part of the city. The march ended at Wall Street, and many protesters continued with other marches that were planned for the day.

#NewYorkNY #AfricanAmerican #Juneteenth #GeorgeFloyd

According to the union, “On Friday, June 19, 2020, the ILWU Coast Longshore Division will stop work for eight hours on the first shift in 29 West Coast ports from Bellingham, Washington to San Diego, California in observance of Juneteenth. This action follows on the heels of the June 9, 2020 action in which the ILWU Coast Longshore Division stopped work coastwide at 9:00 a.m. for nine minutes in honor of George Floyd, adding to the chorus of voices protesting police brutality and systematic racism.”

The ILWU statement concludes, “As we stop work on Juneteenth, we do so in honor of our African American brothers and sisters and in recognition of the fact that we still have much to achieve as a society in order to carry out the promise of freedom in this country. On Juneteenth, we recommit ourselves to that promise.”

#SanFranciscoCA #Labor #OppressedNationalities #PeoplesStruggles #AfricanAmerican #PoliceBrutality #InternationalLongshoreWarehouseUnionILWU #Strikes #Juneteenth #workStoppage

The UAO celebration marks a historic first. Although surrounding communities like Appleton and Fond du Lac have hosted events, the city of Oshkosh has never held a similar gathering to commemorate the Juneteenth until now.

“People stayed for about two or three hours and enjoyed themselves and talked about the community and things that need to change,” said Jeremy Bradley, UAO member and primary organizer of the event.

UAO’s ongoing campaign is to have Oshkosh be recognized as a sanctuary city and is aimed at protecting undocumented people in the city. As a component of the campaign, UAO developed a resolution to be passed by the Oshkosh Common Council that calls for creating a Civilian Police Accountability Council. The proposed Oshkosh Police Accountability Council (OPAC) would serve not only as a place for to make complaints about police, but also as a way for the people of Oshkosh to have some control over the police department.

This is an important inclusion, because last summer the Oshkosh Police Department (OPD) was responsible for killing Isaiah Tucker, an unarmed Black resident of the city, shooting him eleven times. The police were absolved of any wrongdoing in the case, despite the video evidence and the changing stories of Aaron Achterberg and Kyle Roberts, the officers involved in the murder. Those two remain employed by the Oshkosh Police Department to this day.

Members of Isaiah Tucker's family attended the Juneteenth celebration, sharing their thoughts about the event and expressing their desire to see justice done. “I thought the event was pretty awesome and I feel it gave people in our community a chance to speak out about the injustices in the Oshkosh Police force,” said Tarra Woods, Tucker's sister. “I feel the Oshkosh Police Department – especially officer Aaron Achterberg – needs to be brought to justice for killing my brother Isaiah Tucker in cold blood because he said he was in fear for his life when the body cam footage shows a different story.”

The Winnebago County District Attorney Christian Gossett said that Officer Achterberg was justified in using deadly force. Through the mechanism of the proposed Oshkosh Police Accountability Council, UAO hopes to correct this injustice.

#OshkoshWI #AfricanAmerican #Antiracism #Juneteenth #UnitedActionOshkosh

Tampa, FL – Twenty Tampa student and community activists gathered for a barbecue on June 19 to celebrate Juneteenth. Hosted by the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), attendees discussed topics such as African American history, the Black Lives Matter movement, socialism and African American liberation in the Black Belt South.

Juneteenth is a celebration held every year, particularly in the U.S. South, celebrating the beginning of the abolition of slavery in Texas. Juneteenth is also a celebration for reflecting on the history of national oppression that continues to be visited on African Americans. The civil rights movement used Juneteenth celebrations in order to help build the struggle.

Speakers included Chris Wilson from Black Lives Matter and Chrisley Carpio of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization. Carpio gave a speech on the ways national oppression continues to affect African Americans, saying, “We cannot let our African American brothers and sisters die at the hands of police or in prisons making products for billion dollar corporations. We must learn the lessons of history, and crush the legacy of slavery once and for all.”

Sarah Owusu-Tweneboah of Students for a Democratic Society said, “I feel as a Black woman in America, my ancestors were slaves that I should celebrate and remember a day that was so important in their lives, and by extension my own. This is my history. I wish they taught us more in school but I guess it’s up to us to teach each other just like the slaves did.”

Activists renewed their commitment to the fight against national oppression of African Americans, and the ongoing fight against police brutality in particular.

#TampaFL #InJusticeSystem #Labor #PeoplesStruggles #nationalLiberation #Antiracism #Juneteenth #Slavery #America