Save the date for New Mexico’s premier Juneteenth event! Celebrate Black-owned businesses, artisans, vendors, performers, and more! Rain or shine!
This year’s Juneteenth event will include speakers, national and local musical acts, a youth fashion empowerment show, a COVID-19 vaccination clinic, food, and lots of dancing. The entire event will be family friendly and will follow current COVID safeguards. Other highlights include:
Black Wall Street (local entrepreneurs sharing financial literacy)
Soul Food Alley
A Kid’s Corner
Black Excellence Avenue (featuring a curated art show)
Save the date for New Mexico’s premier Juneteenth event! Celebrate Black-owned businesses, artisans, vendors, performers, and more! Rain or shine!
This year’s Juneteenth event will include speakers, national and local musical acts, a youth fashion empowerment show, a COVID-19 vaccination clinic, food, and lots of dancing. The entire event will be family friendly and will follow current COVID safeguards. Other highlights include:
Black Wall Street (local entrepreneurs sharing financial literacy)
Soul Food Alley
A Kid’s Corner
Black Excellence Avenue (featuring a curated art show)
On June 17, 2021, President Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, establishing Juneteenth as a US national holiday. On May 14, 2022, a White man executed a planned act of racist mass murder, gunning down patrons at a Tops grocery store in a predominantly Black neighborhood in Buffalo, NY. In proximity to the Juneteenth holiday, it’s challenging to reconcile these two events. The first commemorates the end of the institution of slavery in America. The second illustrates, in literal blood and tears, the legacy of racial oppression and terrorization that still pervades this country. Contradiction is discomforting, yet contradiction is inherent in the founding principles of this country. The Declaration of Independence extols the idea that humans have the right to life and liberty but at the time of its writing, the slave trade thrived. American slavery’s eventual demise was due to the resistance of Black people–through revolt, escape, and organizing for abolition. Enslaved African-Americans knew the ideal of freedom applied to all. Their desire for life and liberty burned bright and they utilized what they had–mind, body, and soul–to achieve it.
Juneteenth celebrates the strengths and contributions of African-Americans. A guiding principle of the New Mexico Black Leadership Council is assets-based community development. This approach elevates strengths rather than focusing on supposed deficiency. The aim is to find existing resources, then build upon them by developing multiculturalism and cultivating partnerships that support Black communities.
Juneteenth is an example of multicultural development. It can be tempting, however, to view the holiday as an opportunity to check off the anti-racism box or capitalize on it for self-serving purposes. Walmart’s “Juneteenth” ice cream debacle is a prime example. Maybe if Walmart had planned to donate the profits to organizations advocating for the end of racial oppression, their new product line would have gone over better. Or they could have instead focused on boosting the visibility of Creamalicious, an ice cream made by a Black owned business. We can learn from the mistake of a multi-billion dollar corporation; we can support a Black-owned business not to check a box, but to appreciate the value of its products and services. We can and should celebrate Juneteenth because of, and in spite of, the horrific acts of violence still occurring in the United States and the world. By meeting new people and broadening our social and community spheres, we can challenge the idea that it’s okay to target and oppress any race of people. Understand what Juneteenth represents and stoke the fire for liberty and justice for all. When we expand our worldview and open our hearts and minds, the possibility for true and inclusive social justice follows.
Shannon Moreau is the Editor for the NMBLC EQ Blog
Juneteenth celebrations in New Mexico
Albuquerque
The City of Rio Rancho and the NAACP Rio Rancho branch are hosting Juneteenth Freedom Day Event at Campus Park Friday, June 17th, 5:30 pm – 8:30 pm. More at www.facebook.com/events/1659084574460850/
Albuquerque community organizers are hosting Juneteenth on Civic Plaza Saturday, June 18th, 12:00 PM – 10:30 PM and Sunday, June 19th, 3:00 PM – 8:00 PM. More at www.nmjuneteenth.com
Southwest Save the Kids and Building Power for Black New Mexico are hosting People’s Juneteenth in Roosevelt Park Saturday, June 18th, 4 PM – 9 PM. More at www.facebook.com/events/1020370628591037
A Pre-Juneteenth R&B Kickback is happening at Frank’s Chicken and Waffles Saturday, June 18th, 8:00PM – Midnight. More at https://www.thesyndicateabq.com/
Dona Ana County NAACP is hosting a Juneteenth banquet and Juneteenth 2022 Weekend with the Jazz Cultural Series at Downtown Plaza. More at https://naacpdac.org/juneteenth-2/
NMBLC breaks down what Juneteenth is about and lists Juneteenth 2021 celebrations happening this weekend.
What is Juneteenth?
Juneteenth is a celebration of the end of slavery in the United States. The first death blow to slavery was dealt with the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. In actuality, the practice of slavery did not end until over two years later. On June 19, 1865, the last of the enslaved people in Galveston Texas were informed by Union troops that slavery had been abolished. “Juneteenth” is a conjugation of “June” and “nineteenth.” The first official Juneteenth celebration took place the following year in Texas. As Black people migrated from Texas to other parts of the country, the Juneteenth tradition spread.
“I didn’t know about Juneteenth until I was nineteen years old.”
—Laurence Fishburne, actor, Black-ish
It’s not uncommon, even among Black people, to not really know what Juneteenth is. I didn’t hear about it until well into adulthood. I took even longer to know what it was about.
“I knew about Juneteenth but never fully understood it.”
—Marsai Martin, actor, Black-ish
It was this lack of national awareness that inspired the famous “Juneteenth” episode of the sitcom Black-ish. In the episode, Anthony Anderson’s character grapples with the fact that he and his family don’t celebrate the holiday and possibly don’t want to, since it’s a reminder of the enslavement of African and African American people in the U.S. This real day conflict is interspersed with musical numbers explaining slavery, emancipation, and the oppression that followed. Even now it feels incredible that the episode aired on mainstream television.
“Having this moment on prime time television, to say this is not only something that we as Black people should be able to celebrate loudly and proudly, but this is something that we should expect everybody to know.”
— Yara Shahidi, Black-ish
Celebrate Juneteenth 2021 in New Mexico at one of these events
How will you celebrate Juneteenth this year? Whether it’s firing up the grill, watching your favorite Black shows, or just taking a moment to be thankful, Juneteenth 2021 is a chance to celebrate freedom. With the state opening up this summer, there are opportunities to share this joy in person. Scroll down for some Juneteenth 2021 events happening this weekend.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uy0ikqpoYNU
New Mexico Juneteenth 2021: “To A Higher Ground”
Friday, June 18– Sunday, June 20, 2021 Civic Plaza, Downtown Albuquerque
Spend a weekend celebrating the deep rooted Black culture in New Mexico. This festival is for the community and put on by members of the community.
New Mexico Black Voters Collaborative (NMBVC) will have a booth at this Juneteenth event and is hosting a meet and greet with New Mexico legislators on Saturday, June 19th from 6PM to 7PM. Elected officials joining NMBVC are Representative Melanie Stansbury, State Senator Harold Pope, Jr., and Chief Public Defender Bennett Baur.
