Dr. Brenna Wynn GreerBroward County Library is hosting a star-s tudded presentation to recognize Juneteenth. \; What happened on Junet eenth? \; Who wrote the Juneteenth order? \; Why was the Juneteent h order issued? \; Participate in the Juneteenth program to learn the answers to those questions and many more.
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\nWhy Juneteenth Matters by
On June 19\, 1865\, the U.S. institution of slavery effectively died in Texas. Every year since\, Afric an Americans have marked that historic day with the celebration of Junetee nth. Although celebrated in cities and towns across the nation\, Juneteent h has remained largely a Black holiday. With Congress establishing it as a federal holiday last year\, Juneteenth presents the opportunity for all A mericans to reflect on this nation&rsquo\;s history of slavery and to comm it themselves to freedom and equality. Dr. Brenna Wynn Greer will trace this important holiday&rsquo\;s history and speak to its si gnificance in light of African Americans&rsquo\; present-day struggles.
\nDr. Brenna Wynn Greer is an Associate Professor of History at Wellesley College. She is a historian of race\, gender\, and cu lture in the twentieth century United States\, who explores historical con nections between capitalism\, social movements and visual culture. Her fir st book\, Represented: The Black Imagemakers Who Reimagined African Americ an Citizenship\, examines the historical circumstances that made media rep resentations of Black citizenship good business after World War II. A reci pient of several teaching awards and major fellowships from the ACLS\, Woo drow Wilson Foundation\, and Andrew W. Mellon Foundation\, Greer&r squo\;s work has been featured in The New York Times\, Nation\, D aily Mail\, and Columbia Journalism Review. \;
\n Dr. Brenna Wynn Greer
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\n\nBlack Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue by Adrian Miller
\nAdrian Miller i s a soul food scholar\, James Beard Award winner\, attorney\, and certifie d barbecue judge who lives in Denver\, Colorado. Mr. Miller will discuss the history of African American barbecue culture detailed in his book \;Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue.
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\;Adrian Miller
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\n\nOpal Lee and Wh at it Means to be Free by Alice Faye Duncan
\nOpal Lee and What it Means to be Free is a short talk that will introduce listeners to the &ldquo\;Grandmother of Juneteenth.&rdquo\; \;Born in Marshall\, Texas on October 7\, 1926\, Grandmother Opal Lee has walked ac ross America to make Juneteenth a national holiday. During the summer of 2 020 after George Floyd&rsquo\;s death\, it was Opal Lee&rsquo\;s voice tha t rose above the sound of raging fires to rally all Americans in unity und er the banner of the Juneteenth Holiday. \; Her call for peace and rac ial reconciliation became a reality when President Biden signed the Junete enth holiday into law during June 2021. Hear about the history of Juneteen th and how Grandmother Opal Lee continues to use her voice as an agent of change.
\nAlice Faye Duncan is a National Board Edu cator who writes books for children. Memory is her motivation. She writes to help people remember forgotten moments from American History. Her most popular book is Memphis\, Martin\, and the Mountaintop&mdash\;The Sanitati on Strike of 1968. \; Her newest titles include Opal Lee and What it M eans to be Free (A History of Juneteenth) and Evicted&mdash\;The Struggle for the Right to Vote.
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Alice Faye Duncan
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Opal Lee
The retire d educator Opal Lee set an ambitious goal just before her 90th birthday in 2016 when she decided to embark upon a walking pilgrimag e to Washington\, DC\, to raise awareness for the campaign to make Junetee nth a US national holiday. \;Opal's Walk became an annual event in 20 19\, and a year later\, the Change.org petition Lee had started to declare Juneteenth a federally observed holiday reached the milestone of one mill ion signatures. \;The milestone was achieved in June 2020 when a spat e of troubling murders of African Americans by police officers in several cities triggered widespread protests. \; \;
\nIn June of 202 1\, a measure to make June 19 a federal holiday was easily passed through Congress. \;On June 17\, President Joe Biden signed the bill into law \, officially making Juneteenth a national holiday. \;Lee was present for the White House signing ceremony and personally spoke to President Bi den afterward.
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Opal Lee
Ar e you interested in a hard copy of the following titles by our presenters? Contact Sebastian Perez @ \;sbperez@broward.org \;to req uest a copy for pick-up. Please note: books are distributed on a first-com e-first-serve basis to Broward County Library customers only (Customers mu st pick up the item at a Broward County Library). \;
\nRepre
sented: The Black Imagemakers Who Reimagined African American Citizenship<
/em> by Brenna Wynn Greer
Black Smoke: African Americans and the
United States of Barbecue by Adrian Miller
Opal Lee and What
It Means to Be Free by Alice Faye Duncan (Children&rsquo\;s Book)