JUNETEENTH MINNESOTA -- WEST BROADWAY BLOCK PARTY

Join Maiden Rock Apples Winery & Cidery in celebrating JUNETEENTH 2023! Maiden Rock will be doing wine and cider sampling -- complemented by food pairings. While there is no charge for the sampling and food pairing -- donations and tips are gladly accepted.

You will also have opportunities to purchase bottles of wine and cider to enjoy at home. LOOK FOR OUR MARKET TENT AND JOIN IN THE FUN AND CELEBRATION OF OUR BLACK AMERICAN HERITAGE!!

WHAT IS JUNETEENTH?

After the Union Army captured New Orleans in 1862, slave holders in Confederate states migrated to Texas with more than 150,000 enslaved Black persons.  For 3 years, even after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, enslaved Black Americans in Texas remained in brutal bondage, immorally and illegally deprived of their freedom and basic dignity.  On June 19, 1865 — over 2 years after President Lincoln declared all enslaved persons free — Major General Gordon Granger and Union Army troops marched to Galveston, Texas, to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation and free the last enslaved Black Americans in Texas.

Those who were freed from bondage celebrated their long-overdue emancipation on June 19. The celebration was so joyous amongst Herdie's Baisden's family that his great- great Aunt Hettie Baisden ended up under thebed after being bounced out!!

Now, JUNETEENTH is a national holiday --   a chance for all Americans to celebrate human freedom, reflect on the grievous and ongoing legacy of slavery, and rededicate ourselves to rooting out the systemic racism that continues to plague our society as we strive to deliver the full promise of America to every American.

This JUNETEENTH, we are freshly reminded that the poisonous ideology of racism has not yet been defeated — it only hides underground. 

JUNETEENTH is a day to reflect on both bondage and freedom — a day of both pain and purpose.  It is, in equal measure, a remembrance of both the long, hard night of slavery and subjugation, as well as a celebration of the promise of a brighter morning to come.  On JUNETEENTH, we remember our extraordinary capacity to heal, to hope. and to emerge from our worst nightmares as a stronger, freer, and more just Nation.  It is also a day to celebrate the power and resilience of Black Americans, who have endured generations of oppression in their ongoing journey toward equal justice, equal dignity, equal rights, equal opportunity, and equal wealth in America.

IT IS WAY PAST TIME FOR RECONCILIATION. 

Yes, we grow stronger as a country when we honestly confront our past injustices, including the profound suffering and injustice wrought by slavery and generations of segregation and discrimination against Black Americans.  To heal, we must remember the pain.  We must never rest until the promise of our Nation is made real for ALL Americans.

The emancipation of enslaved Black Americans was not the end of our Nation’s work to deliver on the promise of equality — it was only the beginning.  On JUNETEENTH, we recommit to our shared work to ensure racial justice, equity, and equality in America.  We commemorate the centuries of struggle and progress led by Colored Troops and Union soldiers, abolitionists, educators, civil rights advocates, lawyers, activists, trade unionists, religious leaders, public officials, and everyday Americans who have brought our Nation closer to fulfilling its promise.

The late Congressman Elijah Cummings, is quoted to have said, “Our children are the living messengers we send to a future we will never see.”  

Together as a Nation, let us continue our work together to build a country we are all proud to pass along to our children — one where the foundational promises and ideals of America ring true for every child and every family.

AND, AS WE REFLECT AND COMMEMORATE, LET'S PARTY!  

RING OUT BELLS OF FREEDOM!

HONK THE HORNS OF HOPE!!

LIFT EVERY VOICE AND SING TILL EARTH AND HEAVEN RINGS 

AND NEVER, EVER FORGET FROM WHENCE WE COME!!!!

ACROSS THE UNITED STATES PEOPLE ARE CELEBRATING JUNETEENTH. New Mexico has obsrved the JUNETEENTH holiday since 2006. In 2020, South Dakota, North Dakota and Hawaii were the last states to give JUNETEENTH anyformal obnservance, Today, all 50 states and the District of Columbia recognize JUNETEENTH as a holiday or observance; and at least 21 states and the District of Columbia have designated JUNETEENTH as a permanent paid and/or legal holiday through legislation or executive action. [Jul 1, 2022]

 IN THE TWIN CITIES OF MINNEAPOLIS & ST PAUL, CELEBRATIONS INCLUDE:

• 19JUN Soul Of The Southside | 2023 Juneteenth Festival | Mon, 1 – 8 PM | The Hook and Ladder Theater & Lounge | 3010 Minnehaha Ave | Minneapolis, MN
• 18JUN Juneteenth | Sun, Jun 18 – Mon, Jun 19 | Recreation Outdoor Center (Roc) | 3700 Monterey Dr | St Louis Park, MN
• 19JUN Juneteenth Celebration | Mon, 4 PM | Maetzold Amphitheater | 7499 France Ave S | Edina, MN  

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