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A Juneteenth Message

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This weekend we celebrate Juneteenth, commemorating June 19th, 1865, when word of Emancipation finally reached the enslaved people of Galveston, Texas, marking a symbolic end to slavery in the United States. The Commonwealth of Virginia established Juneteenth as a state holiday last year, and the Senate (unanimously) and House (overwhelmingly) just voted to make it a national holiday going forward.聽President Biden is expected to sign it soon.

In the spirit of celebration and contemplation, I want to share a piece of good radio that I recently heard on NPR鈥檚 Morning Edition.

This is part of the 鈥淩ising Sun Music Project鈥 series with pianist Lara Downes, on the contributions of Black musicians in the classical music space. This 5 minute piece features two treatments of 鈥淟ift Every Voice and Sing鈥 (1905) by James Weldon Johnson and John Rosamond Johnson. 鈥淟ift Every Voice,鈥 known as the Black National Anthem, is often heard at Juneteenth celebrations across the country as well as in church and other settings.聽 The NPR piece also looks at (and listens to) two versions of Sam Cooke鈥檚 great Civil Rights song 鈥淎 Change is Gonna Come鈥 (1964). 聽

I am very glad that this important day in American history is finally getting broader, and more official, recognition.聽Freedom, equally available to all, is indeed something to celebrate 鈥 and to keep working toward. Let鈥檚 take time to both celebrate and contemplate this moment and this work on the occasion of Juneteenth.聽

Rick Davis
Dean, CVPA