Celebrating Juneteenth
The Black Liberation Movement: Our Foremothers and Forefathers in the Fight for Freedom
by Pastor Chad Collins
For the last two years, our nation has recognized June 19th as the federal holiday Juneteenth. Juneteenth commemorates June 19th, 1865, the day in Galveston, Texas, when the final stand of the confederate army (The Army of the Trans-Mississippi) fell and General Gordon Granger proclaimed the end of slavery and that all formerly enslaved people would be in a state of absolute equality. This, of course, was about 1½ years after president Lincoln made the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863 and nearly 250 years after Africans were first stolen from their homes and brutally enslaved in the original colonies.
It must be said however, that Juneteenth is so much more than remembering dates and defeats of armies. We must remember that the Emancipation Proclamation was largely a military tactic, declaring freedom only for those enslaved persons in rebel-held territory and not within slave states loyal to the Union or even within Confederate territory occupied by the union army. It was the initiative and the actions of the formerly enslaved themselves that forced the hand of white leadership in both the North and the South. Hundreds of thousands would flee the plantations, with many returning to encourage others to flee. Others began demanding compensation for their work or simply rose up against the plantation system. And, many formerly enslaved demanded to join the Union army, by the end of the war constituting 10% of soldiers and in some regiments up to 50%.
Juneteenth is a celebration of African Americans' strength to endure and their power to overcome! Juneteenth is a celebration of the struggles and the successes of the movement for Black Liberation. Juneteenth has never been about what Lincoln or Granger proclaimed but has always been about our African American sisters and brothers’ awe-inspiring will to live and fight for freedom!
This is why, if you were fortunate enough to attend a Juneteenth celebration this past weekend, you joined in a great celebration of life and liberation. You probably ate some delicious home made food, witnessed some beautiful art, listened and danced to some form (Hip-Hop, Gospel, Rock and Roll, Soul, R&B, etc.) of the great Black American music, Jazz! And within the celebration, you were most likely invited to remember and recognize that all this beautiful life was formed and shaped by a people who resisted and persevered against one of the most evil systems of brutality and oppression known to human history.
As our Palestinian sisters and brothers resist and struggle for their own freedom, and as many of us fight alongside them, we recognize that we are standing on the shoulders of giants, and we take great inspiration from Black Americans’ legacy of resilience and power to overcome. And until the day comes, when Palestine is free, may we all continue to embrace the will to resist! Sumud!
Happy Juneteenth! Free Free Palestine!
FOSNA News
Letter to Blinken & Mayorkas:
On Thursday, June 22nd, the following letter from FOSNA’s Executive Director Jonathan Kuttab was delivered to Secretary Blinken and Secretary Mayorkas detailing how including Israel in the U.S. Visa Waiver Program while discriminating against Palestinian Americans through a COGAT permit system would blatantly codify apartheid, and make the US complicit in enforcing discrimination in clear violation of US laws.
Take Action!
Urge the Biden Administration to launch an FBI investigation into the attacks against US citizens in Palestine and to demand Israel cease all attacks on Turmusayya immediately
(AJP Action) On Tuesday, June 20th, hundreds of armed Israeli settlers carried out a series of violent attacks, deliberately setting homes and cars on fire in the Palestinian village of Turmusayya in the occupied West Bank. The vast majority of the residents of the village happen to be Palestinian Americans. The settlers who attacked Turmusayya from the neighboring illegal settlement of Shiloh, killed Omar Hisham Jbara al-Qatin, who was defending his family home in the village. Omar was a father of two young children and a US Permanent Resident.
Similar to what occurred in Huwara a few months ago, this event can be defined as a “pogrom.” A pogrom is a violent attack or organized massacre perpetrated against a specific ethnic, religious, or social group, typically involving destruction, looting, and physical harm.
Settlers used brutal force, attacking individuals, their homes, and vehicles. IDF soldiers protected the settlers and participated in the attack, leading to numerous suffocation cases. Palestinians were locked in their homes, and farms were burned. At least one Palestinian has been killed, over 34 Palestinians wounded, 30 homes attacked, and 134 vehicles set on fire.
Fill out the form below to email President Biden, Secretary Blinken, and Vice President Harris.
Get Involved!
We invite you to join us in the following events and activities:
Book Launch
Our Executive Director Jonathan Kuttab is launching his new book, The Truth Shall Set You Free: The Story of a Palestinian Human Rights Lawyer Working for Peace & Justice in Palestine/Israel.
Join us on Zoom Wednesday, June 28th at 5:00pm PT/8:00pm ET!
July 8 - 17: Palestine
FOSNA Witness Trip
We are hosting a witness trip with Sabeel led by Nyle Fort and Jonathan Kuttab this July! For 9 days, our delegation will be traveling across Palestine experiencing the reality of joy, resistance, and struggle of the Palestinian community.
Weekly
Sabeel Prayer Service. Join Sabeel every Thursday (6pm Palestine) for online Bible Study, discussion, and prayer. Examine scripture in light of the ongoing realities confronting the Palestinian Church and the pursuit of Palestinian liberation.
Wave of Prayer. Subscribe to receive Sabeel's Wave of Prayer, enabling friends of Sabeel around the world to pray over issues of critical concern to the Holy Land on a weekly basis.
Kumi Now! June 25 to July 1: Week 26 - Nuclear Israel. Kumi Now is an online gathering every Tuesday (6pm Palestine) with a guest speaking on the weekly topic. Register here.
The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) was signed on July 1, 1968. According to the U.N., “More countries have ratified the NPT than any other arms limitation and disarmament agreement, a testament to the treaty’s significance.”1 Only five countries are not party to the treaty: North Korea, South Sudan, India, Pakistan, and Israel. As we mark the anniversary of this important treaty, the Kumi Now community looks at the story of how the world came to know that Israel possessed nuclear weapons and examines what this means for Palestine and the region, so that together we can rise up.