“Choosing your surname gives you that power to say, ‘This is what I’m gonna be called from now on,’” explained genealogist Kenyatta Berry.
By Julia Craven Oluale Kossula: That’s the name author Zora Neale Hurston used when she greeted Cudjo Lewis, the last known survivor of the transatlantic slave trade and the subject of her nonfiction book “Barracoon.” He was delighted at being addressed by the name his mother gave him, according to Hurston’s account of the hours […]
White Plains, New York (NY) – June 19, 2022: Harriet Tubman Statue (Shutterstock) By Christina Fan, CBS New York NEWARK, N.J. — Newark commemorated Juneteenth on Monday by honoring an abolitionist who dedicated her life to leading enslaved Africans to freedom. The city renamed a popular park Harriet Tubman Square and also commissioned a statue […]
By Kelly Powers and Sammy Gibbons, USA TODAY NETWORK A concept proving viscous in public policy, nearly stagnant at the federal level, is gaining momentum at the altar. Major faith institutions are addressing reparations in the United States, often ahead of any states where they congregate. The efforts serve as direct attempts at reconciliation for […]
Milwaukee, Wisconsin USA – June 19th, 2021: African American drummer band participating and marching in Juneteenth celebration parade. (Shutterstock) By Sydney Combs, National Geographic Known to some as the country’s “second Independence Day,” Juneteenth celebrates the freedom of enslaved people in the United States at the end of the Civil War. For more than 150 […]
The beloved “Grandmother of Juneteenth” reflects on freedom a year after the day became nationally recognized.
By Taryn Finley, Huff Post This June 19 marks the second year the United States has observed Juneteenth as a national holiday. That’s in large part due to the work and dedication of 95-year-old Opal Lee, who played a major role in putting pressure on legislators to acknowledge a significant day Black folks in America […]
