Tomorrow is Juneteenth or Emancipation Day, the celebration of the date that Union soldiers brought news to Galveston, Texas that all enslaved persons were free. This holiday, now a national holiday after Congress’s vote this week, is a time to celebrate the African American and Black community. It is also a time to reflect on our own role in building a country that centers a dominant and westernized narrative of what community is.
We hope you will join the library as we take time to review important educational materials, celebrate and engage in conversation through the NM Juneteenth “To a Higher Ground” festival (also being live streamed), take PRIDE in the intersecting identities of our UNM cohorts with Juneteenth Through a Queer Lens, and understand the cultural wealth of the communities that were built out of “grassroots preservation practice.”
While reflection and celebration are necessary, so is action. Please take this time to understand how the impacts of slavery are not a thing of the past, reading The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander and When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Patrisse Khan-Cullors, could be a good place to start. Joining the Community, Connection, and Reflection Book Club would also be an action item that can help you stay involved in this conversation long term. You can also review the resources and celebrations listed above to find opportunities to volunteer, donate, and further engage with the work being done in New Mexico and beyond.
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