Program launches Karamu’s new Social Justice Series. In a sign of the times, it’s one of hundreds of Juneteenth events around the country amid growing awareness of the holiday, black history and culture
Freedom on Juneteenth, an original theatrical production from America's oldest Black producing theatre, will debut tonight at 7PM EST/4PM PST on social media and streaming platforms. It’s an original theatrical production and an artistic response to the recent murders of Black Americans through music, dance, and spoken word.
The one-hour production will stream on social media, including Facebook and YouTube, and select streaming platforms, including Vimeo, Roku and Fire TV. Immediately following the theatrical program, Freedom on Juneteenth continues with a live, 30-minute panel discussion and interactive dialogue with community leaders on the recent developments of the #BlackLivesMatter movement (and the continuing police brutality and murders of African Americans).
Freedom on Juneteenth is designed to celebrate, educate, and activate communities. "Within hours of filming our last scene, another Black man, Rayshard Brooks, was murdered by a police officer," says Tony F. Sias, President & CEO of Karamu House, who conceptualized and directed the production. "There is an extreme urgency to respond to these murders — and to address the freedoms that African Americans still do not yet experience, 155 years after the last slave in this country went free (on June 19, 1865). Freedom on Juneteenth is Karamu House's unapologetic response."
The production features a large number of performers including several who will be well-known to Karamu aficionados, such as Ananias Dixon, Daniel Gray Kontar, Prophet Seay, and Mariama Whyte. The ensemble also includes dancers Gabrielle Shipley, Inali Pechardo, Dijon Kirkland, Jameelah Raman, Aziza Bomani, and Dr. Munirah Bomani.
As usual, there is a top-notch musical ensemble, led by Dr. David M. Thomas on keyboards and including Kevin Byous on guitar, Wayne A. Deadwiley on bass Deion Williams on drums, and percussionist Bill Ransom.
Live panel discussion follows production
A panel of local community leaders will discuss the #BlackLivesMatters movement following the "Freedom on Juneteenth" production. It is slated to begin at 8PM EST.
This panel will gather live in the Jelliffe Theatre; while still closed to the public, the event will be livestreamed on Karamu House's Facebook, YouTube and Vimeo pages.
The 30-minute live panel and dialogue will feature Dr. Edward M. Barksdale, Jr., Surgeon-in-Chief, University Hospital Rainbow Babies &Children's Hospital; Judge Patricia Ann Blackmon, Ohio Eighth District Court of Appeals; and Chenoa Miller, Youth Activist / Organizer, Brand Ambassador, EmpowerCLE.
The program also kicks off Karamu House's new monthly Social Justice Series. The Series will be held monthly and feature, like tonight’s event, a mix of artistic response and community dialogue.
"Karamu's social justice legacy has paved the way for our current social justice engagement and impact," says Aseelah Shareef, Director of Operations and Community Engagement. "We will continue to carry the baton and unapologetically demand and work for sustained changes for Black Americans."
Karamu House is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places and featured in the Smithsonian's African American Museum. Legendary artists including Langston Hughes, Ruby Dee, Robert Guillaume, Ron O'Neal, Bill Cobbs, James Pickens, Jr., Vanessa Bell Calloway and Imani Hakim have been associated with the 105-year old "place of joyful gathering" (the meaning of "Karamu" in Swahili.)
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Juneteenth background
Here are some helpful references on this holiday, observed in some parts of the U.S. ever since 1866:
• The Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. published this extended history of Juneteenth in June 2013 on The Root.
• A more modest description was published this week in The Hill. It contains an abbreviated chronology of black history up to 1865 that will jolt the novitiate and prod the forgetful.
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We want to give a shout here to Kevin Clayton, Vice President for Diversity, Inclusion & Community Engagement for the Cleveland Cavaliers, who delivered a heartfelt statement on the holiday at the inspired location of the African American Cultural Garden. Watch the short video here.
Finally, we note that National Geographic is Simulcasting an ABC News prime time Juneteenth special tonight, tying the holiday to the ongoing struggle for equality in America.
The special will be led by a team of ABC News anchors and correspondents including “ABC News Live Prime” anchor Linsey Davis and “Nightline” co-anchor Byron Pitts. The one-hour special will feature reporting from Tulsa, Oklahoma, Galveston, Texas, and other cities across the country observing the day. “Juneteenth: A Celebration of Overcoming” airs Friday, June 19 (8-9PM EDT), on ABC and National Geographic.
“Juneteenth: A Celebration of Overcoming” will present intimate stories, examining the legacy of the holiday through the current lens of political and social unrest that has captured global attention. The special will feature stories of Black-owned businesses and the #BuyBlack movement to support them, the fight for voting rights and protecting them in 2020, the struggle to pass congressional anti-lynching legislation, the power of Black spirituality and the church and other houses of faith, and how a legacy of suffering has often been transformed into joy through the lens of artists.
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