Program Director's Note - On This Juneteenth
Hello everyone:
Today is Juneteenth, a federal holiday intended to commemorate the end of one of the darkest chapters in our nation’s history. One-hundred sixty years ago today, on June 19 1865, federal troops arrived in the remote outpost of Galveston TX to announce the freedom of enslaved people, more than two months after the Confederate Army surrendered at Appomattox VA, more than two years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, and nearly 250 years after enslaved Africans were kidnapped and brought to America.
Juneteenth reminds us that the struggle for racial justice has always been a mix of victories and setbacks, of important gains and incomplete progress, of milestones met and delays endured.
On this Juneteenth, let us honor all those who fight for basic human rights, including members of this community who devote themselves to caring for society’s most vulnerable patients. Let us join together in the hope that one day soon, we will bring the good news of freedom to even the most remote outposts, in the U.S. and around the world.
Yours,
Mark
What I’m reading:
The Hollowness of This Juneteenth By Vann R. Newkirk II
Juneteenth and American cuisine By Ben Abrams
Still I Rise By Maya Angelou
