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Irish Times
21-06-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Stark difference between Joe Biden and Donald Trump highlighted by views on Juneteenth celebrations
For many Americans, the chance seeing a former US president in the flesh is a once-in-a-lifetime novelty. Those flying on a commercial carrier to Texas this week were quick to record the presence of Joe Biden sitting among them, with requests for selfies happily obliged with. Biden was headed to Galveston to mark the annual Juneteenth celebrations. He made what had for years been a sacrosanct date in African-American history and culture into a federal holiday in 2021. The day marks one of the more extraordinary stories in the complex and bleak history of slavery in the US. On June 19th, 1865, some 2½ years after the by-then slain president Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, word finally reached African Americans in the island city of Galveston, Texas, that they were, in fact, free. READ MORE The news, which came with the arrival of Union army general Gordon Granger, was greeted with stunned disbelief and then euphoric celebrations. Last Thursday, June 19th, that moment was marked by events and parties throughout the country. But in the White House, it was noted that the scheduled plan for US president Donald Trump to sign a proclamation did not materialise. 'I'm not tracking his signature on a proclamation today,' was the terse response of White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt when she was asked about the issue. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said she was not aware of plans by Donald Trump to commemorate Juneteenth. Photograph: Doug Mills/The New York Times 'I know this is a Federal holiday. I want thank all of you for showing up to work – we are certainly here. We're working 24/7 right now.' During his first administration, Trump consistently paid homage to what was still an unofficial holiday, referencing Granger's announcement and paying tribute to the 'courage and sacrifice of the nearly 200,000 former enslaved and free African Americans who fought for liberty'. In 2020, he cancelled a rally that had been planned for June 19th in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the location of one of the most notorious race massacres in US history. In the days afterwards, Trump blithely flipped the fallout by claiming that the coverage had helped to establish the importance of the day in the minds of many Americans. 'I did something good. I made it famous. I made Juneteenth very famous. It's actually an important event. But nobody had heard of it. Very few people had heard of it,' he said. This year, however, he remained uncharacteristically silent about the observation of the day until he issued a late-evening personal proclamation via social media grousing about the number of federally approved days off. 'Too many non-working holidays in America. It is costing our country billions of dollars to keep all of these businesses close. The workers don't want it either! Soon we'll end up having a holiday for every ... working day of the year. It must change if we are going to make America great again.' Protesters attend a Juneteenth demonstration against US immigration officials in New York on Thursday. Photograph: Michael M Santiago/Getty The remark was interpreted as a veiled threat to cancel a day which prominent campaigners such as Sam Collins III, or 'Professor Juneteenth', and Ronald Meyers, a physician and civil rights activist, had spent decades advocating for. It took until 1980 before Juneteenth became a state holiday in Texas and another four decades for a US president to recognise it officially. In a profile in the Texas Observer last year, Collins said the country only began to pay attention to the Juneteenth Observance Foundation after the death, through police brutality, of George Floyd and the subsequent nationwide protests in 2020. But Thursday's significant silence from Trump is in keeping with the blunt ideology of his administration when it comes to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) issues. Juneteenth seems set for a bumpy few years as it is dragged into the deepening culture wars. 'If Juneteenth was really about emancipation, why not ... September 22nd, 1862, when Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation?' right-wing media personality Charlie Kirk asked on social media before answering for himself. 'It's about creating a summertime, race-based competitor two weeks before July 4th, which should be the most unifying civic holiday on the calendar.' Biden was last in the spotlight more than a month ago when a furious bout of publicity over a book charting his cognitive decline was overshadowed by the announcement that he is suffering from cancer. 'It's not that hard to get invited once,' he told the gathering in Reedy Chapel, Galveston. 'But to get invited back is a big deal. Still today, some say to me and you that this doesn't deserve to be a federal holiday. They don't want to remember what we all remember: the moral stain of slavery. I've often called it America's original sin. Well, I took the view as president that we need to be honest about our history.' The episode once again illuminated the stark difference in outlook and spirit between the former president and the current one, whose mood was unlikely to have been cheered by the flood of responses to his social media post. 'I voted for you, but this comment is ridiculous,' one person replied to Trump's post. 'I know you don't care if people like you, but if you want to be popular you must acknowledge this date. There is historical and cultural significance to this date. Your lack of compassion is alarming.'
Associated Press
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
JUNETEENTH: 'TALES OF KOEHLER HOLLOW' WINS GOLD 2025 IBPA BILL FISHER BOOK AWARD BEST FIRST BOOK NON FICTION
Co-Authors Naomi Hodge-Muse and Christopher A. Brooks Celebrate Award on First Anniversary of Juneteenth Release RICHMOND, VA, UNITED STATES, June 19, 2025 / / -- On the 1st year anniversary of its Juneteenth release we are pleased to announce 'Tales of Koehler Holler: An African American Family in Rural Appalachia,' was recently awarded the Gold 2025 IBPA Bill Fisher Book Award for Best First Book Non-Fiction. The story as told by Naomi Hodge-Muse, was co-written with best-selling international biographer Christopher A. Brooks, a foremost author of numerous publications focusing on the African continental and Diasporan experience. The IBPA Book Awards are administered by the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), the largest book publishers' association in the US with over 3,500 members. The book is available on Christopher A. Brooks stated: 'It is truly an honor to be acknowledged in this way. Bringing the story of the once enslaved Amy Finney and her family to a larger readership was and continues to be a very rewarding experience. I share this award with Naomi and her ancestors for enabling me through the written word to tell their extraordinary story. And I am also grateful to my publishers at Unsung Voices Books for believing in this story.' Naomi Hodge-Muse stated: 'What a thrill it is to receive this award. And what a thrill it was to work with Christopher to bring my family's story to life. The fact that it resonated in such a way fulfills my hope that there is now a better appreciation of what it was like for an African American family during those years.' Amy Rath, Publisher of Unsung Voices Books stated: 'We're extremely proud to see Naomi's and Christopher's work commended with the Bill Fisher Award. The committee recognized the importance of the story of the Finney/Hodge family as well as the authors' skill in crafting it. We're honored to have published it as the cornerstone of our catalog.' About 'Tales of Koehler Hollow:" At the core of 'Tales of Koehler Hollow' (pronounced 'holler,' or 'holla') is the family matriarch Amy Finney (1850 – 1936), a formerly enslaved woman in southwest Virginia (modern-day Henry County). In 1890. Amy purchased land about one mile from the main house in which she had once worked in bondage, thus founding a family legacy that continues to this day. This area outside of Martinsville, Virginia, would come to be known as Koehler, and the valley where Amy's property is, became known as 'Koehler Hollow.' Amy's great-great-granddaughter, Naomi Hodge-Muse is the current owner of the Koehler Hollow homestead and its surrounding land, In this book, Naomi recounts family lore from Amy's time as a child to the present—from Reconstruction and the early years of emancipation through the Depression, the 1950s and turbulent 1960s and 70s. This provides the reader with a rare glimpse of life in black Appalachia over the last 150 years. Through the narratives, the characters come alive. We see Amy's son, George Finney (known as 'Poppa') and his wife, Rosa ('Momma Rosie') build a stable and sustainable life in the holler for their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. About Naomi Hodge-Muse: Naomi Hodge-Muse has served as the president of the Martinsville chapter of the NAACP, and Voter's League and was appointed by two Virginia Governors to the New College Institute Board of Directors. Hodge-Muse continues a family tradition of community activism and leadership in the Commonwealth, which has included detailed historical research. She is a proud graduate of Virginia Union University. 'Tales of Koehler Hollow' is her family's story and a history of the African American experience in Appalachia over the past 150+ years. Tales of Koehler Hollow is her first book. About Christopher A. Brooks: Christopher A. Brooks is a professor of anthropology at Virginia Commonwealth University. He has produced numerous award-winning publications focusing on the African continental and diasporan experience. Brooks, an internationally recognized biographer, has authored a series of books exploring the HIV pandemic in Africa and America. His most recent book in that series is 'Dual Pandemics: HIV and the Coronavirus in Several Kenyan Communities' (Linus 2024). He is also the author of 'Roland Hayes: The Legacy of an American Tenor' (with Robert Sims). About Unsung Voices Books: Unsung Voices Books publishes books to know other people the world over. Their publishing program centers around perspectives from writers from marginalized and underrepresented groups and ways of life and stories that enrich our understanding of the places that make up our world.' ISBN: 978-1-964495-00-2 Sheryl Feuerstein EastWest Media +1 310-650-8668 email us here Visit us on social media: LinkedIn Instagram Facebook Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content 'as is' without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
Washington Post
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
New Hampshire's Juneteenth celebration culminates with dance event
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — By the time the drumming and dancing starts Thursday, an organization that promotes African American history and culture in New Hampshire will have hosted nearly a dozen events to celebrate Juneteenth . The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire's weekslong celebration will culminate with the rededication of the African Burying Ground Memorial Park in Portsmouth and a community dance. But those who planned the history tours, community discussions and other events to commemorate June 19, 1865 — the day Union solders brought the news of freedom to enslaved Black people in Texas — also were looking ahead to next year's 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence .
Washington Post
19-06-2025
- General
- Washington Post
Rebuilding one of the nation's oldest Black churches to begin at Juneteenth ceremony
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — A ceremonial groundbreaking will be held Thursday for the rebuilding of one of the nation's oldest Black churches , whose congregants first gathered outdoors in secret before constructing a wooden meetinghouse in Virginia. The First Baptist Church of Williamsburg officially established itself in 1776, although parishioners met before then in fields and under trees in defiance of laws that prevented African Americans from congregating. Free and enslaved members erected the original church house around 1805, laying the foundation with recycled bricks. Reconstructing the 16-foot by 32-foot (5-meter by 10-meter) building will help demonstrate that 'Black history is American history,' First Baptist Pastor Reginald F. Davis told The Associated Press before the Juneteenth groundbreaking. 'Oral history is one thing but to have an image to go along with the oral history makes a greater impact on the psyche of oppressed people,' said Davis, who leads the current 215-member congregation in a 20th Century church that is less than a mile from the original site. 'Black Americans have been part of this nation's history before and since the Declaration of Independence.' The original building was destroyed by a tornado in 1834. First Baptist's second structure, built in 1856, stood there for a century. But the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, a living history museum, bought the property in 1956 and turned the space into a parking lot. Colonial Williamsburg had covered the costs of building First Baptist's current church house. But for decades it failed to tell the church's pioneering history and the stories of other colonial Black Americans. In recent years, the museum has placed a growing emphasis on telling a more complete story about the nation's founding. Colonial Williamsburg's rebuilding of the church is an opportunity to tell Black history and resurrect the stories of those who originally built it. Rebuilding First Baptist's original meetinghouse will fill an important historical gap, while bolstering the museum's depiction of Virginia's 18th century capital through interpreters and restored buildings. More than half of the 2,000 people who lived in Williamsburg at the time were Black, many of them enslaved. Rev. James Ingram is an interpreter who has for 27 years portrayed Gowan Pamphlet, First Baptists' pastor when the original church structure was built. Pamphlet was an enslaved tavern worker who followed his calling to preach, sermonizing equality, despite the laws that prohibited large gatherings of African Americans out of fear of slave uprisings. 'He is a precursor to someone like Frederick Douglass, who would be the precursor to someone like Martin Luther King Jr.,' Ingram said. 'Gowan Pamphlet was leading the charge.' The museum's archaeologists uncovered the original church's foundation in 2021 , prompting Pastor Davis to say then that it was 'a rediscovery of the humanity of a people.' 'This helps to erase the historical and social amnesia that has afflicted this country for so many years,' he said. The archaeologists also located 62 graves , while experts examined three sets of remains and linked them to the congregation. Scientists at William & Mary's Institute for Historical Biology said the teeth of a Black male in his teens indicated some kind of stress, such as malnutrition or disease. 'It either represents the conditions of an enslaved childhood or far less likely — but possibly — conditions for a free African American in childhood,' Michael Blakey, the institute's director, said in 2023 . In the early 1800s, the congregation acquired the property for the original church from a local white merchant. The land was low, soft and often soggy — hardly ideal for building, said Jack Gary, Colonial Williamsburg's executive director of archaeology. But the church's congregants, many of whom were skilled tradespeople, made it work by flipping bricks on their side and making other adjustments to lay a level foundation. 'It was a marvel that they were able to build a structure there, but also that the structure persists and even grows bigger,' Gary said, adding that the church was later expanded. Based on their excavation, archaeologists surmise there was no heat source, such as a fireplace, no glass in the windows and no plaster finish, Gary said. About 50 people could have sat comfortably inside, possibly 100 if they were standing. The congregation numbered about 500, which included people on surrounding plantations. Services likely occurred outside the church as well. White planters and business owners were often aware of the large gatherings, which technically were banned, while there's documentary evidence of some people getting caught, Gary said. Following Nat Turner's rebellion in 1831, which killed more than 50 white people in Virginia's Southampton County, the congregation was led by white pastors, though it was Black preachers doing the work, Gary said. The tornado destroyed the structure a few years later. The museum is rebuilding the 1805 meetinghouse at its original site and will use common wood species from the time: pine, poplar and oak, said Matthew Webster, the museum's executive director of architectural preservation and research. The boards are already being cut. Construction is expected to finish next year. The windows will have shutters but no glass, Webster said, while a concrete beam will support the new church directly over its original foundation, preserving the bricks. 'When we build the earliest part of the church, we will put bricks on their sides and will lay them in that strange way because that tells the story of those individuals struggling to quickly get their church up,' Webster said. 'And then when we build the addition, it will be this formal foundation that really shows the establishment of the church.' Janice Canaday, who traces her lineage to First Baptist, said Williamsburg's Black community never forgot its original location or that its graves were paved over in the 1950s. 'They will never be able to expunge us from the landscape,' said Canaday, who is also the museum's African American community engagement manager. 'It doesn't matter if you take out the building. It doesn't matter if you ban books. You will never be able to pull that root up because that root is so deep.'
Al Arabiya
19-06-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
New Hampshire's Juneteenth Celebration Culminates With Dance Event
By the time the drumming and dancing starts Thursday, an organization that promotes African American history and culture in New Hampshire will have hosted nearly a dozen events to celebrate Juneteenth. The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire's weekslong celebration will culminate with the rededication of the African Burying Ground Memorial Park in Portsmouth and a community dance. But those who planned the history tours, community discussions and other events to commemorate June 19, 1865 – the day Union soldiers brought the news of freedom to enslaved Black people in Texas – also were looking ahead to next year's 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Executive Director JerriAnne Boggis said her organization and other partners want to highlight contradictions in the familiar narratives about the nation's founding fathers. 'Although they are historically courageous, smart men, they were also human. They held people in bondage. They had children with their enslaved,' she said. 'What would the story look like if the story of America was told from these Black descendants?' Juneteenth has been celebrated by Black Americans for generations but became more widely celebrated after former President Joe Biden designated it a federal holiday in 2021. It is recognized at least as an observance in every state and nearly 30 states and Washington, D.C. have designated it as a permanent paid or legal holiday through legislation or executive action. But this year's celebrations come as President Donald Trump has banned diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, or DEI, in the federal government and removed content about Black American history from federal websites. The White House said last week that plans for a Juneteenth event or proclamation this year have not been decided. During his first administration, Trump issued statements each June 19, including one that ended with, 'On Juneteenth 2017, we honor the countless contributions made by African Americans to our Nation and pledge to support America's promise as the land of the free.' The bitter national debates about Trump's travel ban and DEI initiatives haven't overshadowed celebrations of the end of slavery in the US, however, and events are happening around the country Thursday. New Hampshire, one of the nation's whitest states, is not among those with a permanent Juneteenth holiday, and Boggis said her hope that lawmakers would take action is waning. 'I am not so sure anymore given the political environment we're in,' she said. 'I think we've taken a whole bunch of steps backward in understanding our history, civil rights and inclusion.' Still, she hopes New Hampshire's events and others elsewhere will make a difference. 'It's not a divisive tool to know the truth. Knowing the truth helps us understand some of the current issues that we're going through,' she said. 'And if spreading that truth comes with a bit of fun, all the better,' she said. 'When we come together, when we break bread together, we enjoy music together, we learn together, we dance together, we're creating these bonds of community,' she said. 'As much [as] we educate, we also want to celebrate together.'
