Today is Juneteenth, also known as "Freedom Day" or "Emancipation Day." It's a holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. It was on this date in 1865 that Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, to spread the word that slavery had been abolished. Of course, the Emancipation Proclamation had gone into effect some two and a half years earlier, in January 1863; most Confederate states ignored it until they were forced to free their slaves by advancing Union troops.
From the balcony of Galveston's Ashton Villa, General Gordon read the contents of General Order Number Three: "The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor. The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere."
Galveston's former slaves celebrated that day, and formal Juneteenth festivities were held in other parts of Texas on the first anniversary. Celebrations of the holiday have waxed and waned over the years; today, Juneteenth is celebrated in communities all over the country, and as of April 2012, it's officially recognized as a holiday by the governments of 42 of the United States. Observances often include a reading of the Emancipation Proclamation and performances of traditional African-American music, dancing, and literature.
Here is what that means to me as a descendant of slaves, I WILL PROTECT MY COMMUNITIES TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITY. In doing so, I shouldn't have to choose between being Black & Gay because I was born with both traits. Because I am willing to take a stand like many others, I worked with a group of friends who represented a spectrum of groups within the SGL-BT/LGBT community. We were already in a uproar that Pride Houston moved the location of the Pride festivities to downtown from Montrose, even more livid when we realized the date change to June 19, 2015 from the traditional date that falls on Stonewall weekend. To ensure that the Black community and Juneteenth would be fully respected, we to met with three of the board members from Pride Houston and that lead to the sequence of posts, actions and events below:
Ashton P. Woods
November 12, 2014 ·
Ashton P. Woods
November 12, 2014 ·
Ashton P. Woods
November 12, 2014 ·
Ashton P. Woods
November 12, 2014 · Edited ·
This was a letter written to LGBT Pride Houston Celebration and read during a meeting on October 22, 2014 in which three board members met with Myself Fran Watson Kim Watson Marshella AbramsMelanie Espinosa PangMichael C. Webb Jr. Tarah Taylor Synthia Yr Walton Christina Gorczynski and Ryan M Leach:
As Black LGBT and allied leaders and activists, we strongly and collectively oppose the June 20, 2015 date of the Houston LGBT Pride Celebration. We urge Pride Houston to move the celebration to June 27, 2015. Holding the Pride eon June 20th is a mistake for several reasons, but the top two reasons are 1) it directly interferes with Juneteenth, the oldest known nationally recognized celebration commemorating the end of slavery in the US and 2) it undermines the meaning of the Pride celebration, which at its core commemorates the Stonewall riots, the catalyst for the LGBT movement we know today. The effect of not moving the June 20 date will be disastrous, as it will erode the relationship built among the LGBT community and communities of color, specifically the Black community.
The erosion of these relationships will be detrimental to the Houston LGBT community with respect to the fight to keep the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance. Opponents of the ordinance have vilified it since its inception stating in hateful terms that the ordinance is an underhanded means to grant more rights to LGBT persons while denying others. Because leaders from the mainstream black community feel they were not consulted, they were inclined to believe this false rhetoric of the HERO opposition. It took many long nights from LGBT and allied leaders to correct that misinformation. By holding the Pride celebration the same weekend of the Juneteenth celebration, communities of color will likely be inclined again to believe the misinformation, thereby unraveling community trust and HERO support.
Politics aside, maintaining the June 20 date excludes the Black LGBT community. At the very least, Black LGBT persons are put in a situation where they have to choose whether to celebrate Pride or Juneteenth with the corresponding communities. Far too often, people who live an intersected life must choose which part of their identity fits the occasion. During the Pride celebration, people, including those who live at those intersections, are able to bring their whole selves to the celebration. Why? Because the LGBT community contains all races, abilities, and identities. Moving the date to June 27the maintains the tradition of inclusiveness, something the LGBT community is continuously striving to attain.
Practically speaking, moving the date now will not cause any confusion and doing so quietly will prevent community uprisings. At this time, the June 27 date is free, which means the process to change it should be simple. However, not changing the date will definitely cause more problems than necessary.
So again, we urge you to move the Pride celebration back to the last Saturday of June, specifically June 27, 2015.
Ashton P. Woods
November 12, 2014 · Edited ·
Ashton P. Woods
November 12, 2014 ·
"...What involvement has the African American community been part of in past the events...."
We attend Pride Houston LGBT Pride Houston Celebration faithfully and spend our money at this event....THIS IS WHAT THEY THINK OF US
#CHANGEtheDATE #RESPECTus #RespectJuneteenth
Ashton P. Woods
November 13, 2014 ·
Ashton P. Woods
November 13, 2014 ·
https://www.change.org/p/pride-houston-change-the-date-of-t…
Ashton P. Woods
November 13, 2014 ·
#RespectJuneteenth #CHANGEtheDATE
Jolanda Jones
November 13, 2014 ·
Jeffry Faircloth
November 13, 2014 ·
Ashton P. Woods
November 13, 2014 ·
THANK YOU TO ALL WHO PARTICIPATED IN HELPING TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN.....
Ashton P. Woods
November 13, 2014 · Edited ·
Mark Eggleston
November 13, 2014 ·
Very thankful that Pride Houston has decided to honor Juneteenth and reschedule the 2015 Pride Parade to June 27. ABC13 news segment -www.abc13.com/394592 — with Jacques Bourgeois and Ashton P. Woodsat The Montrose Center.
Ashton P. Woods
November 14, 2014 · Edited ·
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