Thought For The Day – Monday 19th June 2023
Juneteenth
Today, June 19th, is Juneteenth.
This day remembers the final abolition of slavery in the last state in the United States of America on June 19th 1865 at the end of the American Civil War.
Slavery was initially outlawed by President Abraham Lincoln in the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863.
Juneteenth is also called Freedom, Liberation or Independence Day. It is marked with food, barbecues, celebrations, church services, parades and games. A most famous dish is called “the Marcus Garvey salad”, named after the black activist and made with red, green, and black beans. Juneteenth is now a public holiday in America.
Slavery was, and is, dehumanising, wrong, horrific, violent and evil. The film “12 Years A Slave”, a 15 certificate, shows the evils, horrors and violence of slavery, through the real life story of Solomon Northup. Here is the age-appropriate trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z02Ie8wKKRg
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12 YEARS A SLAVE is based on an incredible true story of one man’s fight for survival and freedom. In the pre-Civil War United States, Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery. Facing cruelty (personified by a malevolent slave owner, portrayed by Michael Fassbender) as well as …
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Juneteenth would not be the end of the centuries-old pandemic of racism and oppression. Many other fundamental human rights would need to be stood up for. Many other evils needed confronted and changed.
And, though there has been so much positive progress, still today.
Goodness needs constantly done everywhere.
Anti-Racism. At the weekend, the iconic and inspirational men’s football team of Brazil wore a black kit, for the first time in their history, in their match in Spain to stand up against the racism suffered by their brilliant player, Vinicius Junior (pictured below).
Their message was: “Com racismo não tem jogo” – “There is no game with racism.”
