By Mabel Pais

“Juneteenth is a reminder that Black lives matter—not just during Black History Month or on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Black lives matter every day. ” – Maya Richard-Craven

The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) with PSEG’S True Diversity Film Series presents: ‘The Forgotten Story of New Jersey’s Enslaved People’ with a panel discussion. This FREE event takes place at NJPAC’s Chase Room, One Center Street, Newark, New Jersey 07102 on Monday, June 19th at 6 p.m.  Register at njpac.org/event/slaverys-impact-on-the-black-experience-in-new-jersey-pseg-true-diversity-film-series

OR njpac.org/event/slaverys-impact-on-the-black-experience-in-new-jersey-pseg-true-diversity-film-series/?utm_source=dedicated&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=sis_juneteenth_2023

 While Juneteenth is a celebration of the emancipation of all enslaved people, it is also a time to consider the brutal history of slavery and its legacy. Unpaid labor underpinned the economic prosperity of New Jersey in the 18th and 19th centuries and its location along the coast facilitated the slave trade. The people who built the state, and their descendants, never received compensation and today’s Black community in New Jersey continues to experience harms such as high rates of infant mortality, incarceration and one of the highest racial wealth gaps in the country.

This month’s ‘True Diversity Film Series’ selection,’The Forgotten Story of New Jersey’s Enslaved People,’ preserves the legacy of slavery in New Jersey and how it prevented Black property ownership and access to other resources. It raises important questions such as what types of government policies can repair generations of inequality? And how should slavery and its impact be taught in schools?

This month’s ‘Standing in Solidarity’ panel is curated by the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice and is part of NJPAC’s Juneteenth celebrations.

REGISTRATION & PARTICIPATION

To RSVP, Register at njpac.tfaforms.net/145?id=a2F8X000009pLU1UAM

Watch the two-part series ‘The Forgotten Story of New Jersey’s Enslaved People’ at home:

Part 1: youtu.be/r15Tp0ww3nM

Part 2: youtu.be/9PaQtE_TcB8

Join NJPAC for an in-person discussion at NJPAC on Monday, June 19, at 6PM. This event will not be hosted through Zoom.

Preceding the conversation, NJPAC’s African American Employee Resource Group is hosting a Juneteenth celebration in Harriet Tubman Square featuring drumming, dance, poetry and jazz. A spirited parade will lead celebrants to NJPAC for the ‘Standing in Solidarity’ conversation and a Juneteenth Marketplace — with live music and other surprises — will follow in the Prudential Hall lobby from 7:30 – 10PM.

RSVP at https://njpac.tfaforms.net/145?id=a2F8X000009pLU1UAM

PANELISTS

Elaine Buck and Beverly Mills, Authors, ‘If These Stones Could Talk’

Linda Caldwell Epps, President and CEO, ‘1804 Consultants’

Damon Jones, Associate Professor, University of Chicago

Tomas Varela Jr., Executive Director, ‘New Jersey Black Empowerment Coalition’

MODERATOR

Jean-Pierre Brutus, Senior Counsel in the Economic Justice Program, The New Jersey Institute for Social Justice.

Learn more about each of the panelists and moderator at njpac.org/event/slaverys-impact-on-the-black-experience-in-new-jersey-pseg-true-diversity-film-series

NJPAC

Learn more by calling 888.GO.NJPAC (888.466.5722)

Follow NJPAC Online:

Website:    njpac.org

Twitter:     @NJPAC

Instagram:  @NJPAC

Hashtag:    #NJPAC

Facebook:   facebook.com/NJPAC

YouTube:    NJPACtv

Follow NJPAC’s Standing in Solidarity Series Online:

Website:    njpac.org/series/standing-in-solidarity

Hashtag:    #NJPACTakeAStand

Youtube:    youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfbUCnKcogFuVGRL32zeiw8uTHAnungBo

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REFLECTIONS ON JUNETEENTH

By Mabel Pais

“Stolen language. Stolen land. Stolen lives.

Black history has been melted down to what has been taken from us rather than how we have survived.” – Maya Richard-Craven

“Juneteenth is a reminder that Black lives matter—not just during Black History Month or on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Black lives matter every day,” wrote Maya Richard-Craven,a 2022 editorial fellow with Sierra wrote in the Sierra newsletter.

“I felt like history books minimized the Black experience to the trials and tribulations of those who had been enslaved. I was never taught about Juneteenth in school. I never learned that on June 19, 1865, the news that slaves had been freed reached Galveston, Texas,” she continues.

“I was first called the N-word at a sleepover when I was nine years old. At that moment I knew the color of my skin would determine how I would be treated for the rest of my life. The following year I learned about slavery in school. I yearned to learn about positive moments in Black history. I wondered why my people had not received any land or compensation after being enslaved. Few people know just how many Africans were forced into slavery. “

 “By 1865, 12.5 million African people had been brought to the Americas. My family is fortunate enough to be able to trace one ancestor back to Africa. His name was James Parker, though, where it is listed. Less than 100 years ago, my grandmother picked peaches and cotton instead of going to high school. My grandfather helped a white family drive to California to leave rural Arkansas and seek a life of opportunity without fear of lynching. Still, my family has not received reparations for hundreds of years of free labor.”

“Black people deserve to be seen and heard all year round. We have fought for independence on this soil going back to the American Revolution. Juneteenth represents acknowledgment of that independence—it recognizes all of us as Americans. I deserve to celebrate myself and my culture outside of designated days. I commemorate Juneteenth for my ancestors who spent their days working tirelessly. Every Juneteenth I think about the prospect of reparations. I feel a sense of hope when I read that the state of California is considering reparations for descendants of slaves.”

“Last year the Sierra Club called for reparations too. Black Lives Matter LA cofounder Dr. Melina Abdullah believes Black people have the right to reparations,” says Maya Richard-Craven. “Black people are owed reparations because the wealth that rightfully belongs to us, what should have been the earnings of our great-grandparents, has been stolen,” she told Richard-Craven.

“I want others to acknowledge the significance of Juneteenth outside of drinking alcohol and eating soul food. I want them to understand the fear my grandparents felt while living in the South during a tumultuous time. I wish I could tell them about my family friend Dr. Terrence Roberts, who was one of the Little Rock Nine, the first group of Black children to attend school alongside white children. I wish they could understand what it feels like to be named after a plantation owner with no knowledge of your real last name.”

“I will head onto Instagram and see photos of friends at festivals enjoying food and live music. I know deep down that Juneteenth means much more than a day of fun-filled activities. Juneteenth serves as a reminder of the land and resources that were stolen from my people. But mostly, Juneteenth reminds me of why I am proud to be Black. Even if I never receive reparations, I will always be proud, and that is something no one can take from me,” Richard-Craven concludes.

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JUNETEENTH ON PBS

By Mabel Pais

Capturing the profound and often contradictory roles played by Black soldiers in the U.S. military, the film ‘BUFFALO SOLDIERS: FIGHTING ON TWO FRONTS’

(worldchannel.org/episode/local-usa-buffalo-soldiers-fighting-on-two-fronts/utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Race%20in%20America&utm_content=Race%20in%20America_6_2_23) explores how the iconic Buffalo Soldiers fought on two very different sets of front lines: military conflicts abroad and civil rights struggles at home.

Established by Congress in 1868, the 14th Amendment promised citizenship in exchange for military enlistment, prompting many African American men to do so. But they were denied this right due to Jim Crow laws (the system of segregation and discrimination in America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that enforced racial segregation) established during the Reconstruction Era. In spite of this, the men helped lead the expansion of the U.S. westward; they built and guarded the Pacific Railroad, and served as park rangers in places like Yosemite before the government’s establishment of the National Park Service.

The soldiers fought bravely in the Indian Wars, the Philippine-American War, the Mexican Punitive Expedition, and World Wars I & II. Buffalo Soldiers, in particular, participated in the subjugation of Native peoples as the U.S. appropriated tribal land, the persecution of striking silver miners in Idaho, and went up against Filipinos fighting for independence during the Spanish-American War, resulting in a complicated legacy. By combining a multitude of diverse perspectives, the film examines the profound and often-contradictory roles played in American history by the Buffalo Soldiers, and how they fought on two sets of front lines: military conflicts abroad and civil rights struggles at home.

Recommendations

Host your own Buffalo Soldiers Juneteenth Watch Party at worldchannel.org/press/article/buffalo-soldiers-juneteenth-watch-party-toolkit with friends and family. Follow along with @worldchannel with this Juneteenth challenge on

Facebook (facebook.com/WORLDChannel),

Instagram (instagram.com/worldchannel),

Twitter (twitter.com/worldchannel) and

TikTok (tiktok.com/@worldchannel)

and join the social conversation with #BuffaloSoldiersPBS.

(Mabel Pais writes on Social Issues, The Arts and Entertainment, Health & Wellness, Education, Cuisine, Spirituality, and Business)