I can’t think of a time I wasn’t in the state of Texas for Juneteenth. Whether I was celebrating it or not, I was at home. Except this year. Now that I live in Chicagoland, I was able to experience Juneteenth from a different perspective. An outside perspective. And what I experienced was interesting. That’s […]

I was going back and forth on what I wanted to share this year for Juneteenth. I was teaching one of my classes about the origin and significance of this holiday last week. By the way, I teach international students so most have no idea about any U.S. history. I received so much feedback after […]

Rep. Al Edwards said in the Houston Chronicle that the Juneteenth holiday is especially important because “we did it through a structured body like the Legislature.” On this Father’s Day, I want to honor the Father of Juneteenth, Representative Al Edwards from Houston. While the grandmother of Juneteenth, Ms. Opal Lee, has received an abundance […]

Closing out the Creative Expressions Celebrating Juneteenth series I want to touch on how over the years we have seen social media shape Juneteenth into something stretched far from it’s original significance. Now that Juneteenth is officially a federal holiday, the entire country gets to celebrate the dawn of a new era in American history. […]

June 17, 2021 President Biden made it official by signing into law that Juneteenth is the 12th federal holiday. And the first one since Martin Luther King Jr. Day which happened in 1983. So for the first time in my life I witnessed the signing of a new federal holiday. What does that have to […]

Important News Before we get into this week’s post. This is just a step. More to come as the story continues to develop. This month I wanted to explore Juneteenth through the eyes of Black Texas natives as we celebrate something that has gone national. In this series, Creative Expressions Celebrating Juneteenth I’m taking creative […]

Continuing with part II in the Creative Expressions Celebrating Juneteenth series, I want to tie how Miss Juneteenth the beautiful film that came out in 2020 ties into how Black Texans have celebrated this day to keep the legacy alive. Now I’ve seen this film several times. Good thing I bought it huh? Anyway, I […]

Creative Expressions Celebrating Juneteenth is a 5-part series using creative works to reveal the essence of what Juneteenth means through the eyes of Black Texas natives. First up is the Netflix series ‘High on the Hog’ which explores the culinary history of African American food in the U.S. In the last episode, we head to […]

Juneteenth is my first lesson in resistance even though it wasn’t framed in that way. But if you understand the history of this Black Texan celebration, you’ll understand why it has such a significant meaning. It wasn’t just the fact that we found out 2.5 years after the Emancipation Proclamation was read by then President […]