June·teenth
- a holiday celebrated on June 19 to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved people in the US. The holiday was first celebrated in Texas, where on that date in 1865, in the aftermath of the Civil War, enslaved people were declared free under the terms of the 1862 Emancipation Proclamation.
Take a look at these Juneteenth 2022 quotes to stimulate your inner activist. We at Urban Media Today hope that the country we love will begin to reach for equality for all its citizens today and every day
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Whether it’s freedom to express, freedom to live, freedom to earn, freedom to thrive, freedom to learn, whatever it is, I want to make sure that I’m a part of these spaces and opening doors.
-Angela Rye
Struggle is a never-ending process. Freedom is never really won, you earn it and win it in every generation.
-Coretta Scott King
Make a career of humanity. Commit yourself to the noble struggle for equal rights. You will make a better person of yourself, a greater nation of your country, and a finer world to live in.
-Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Today on Juneteenth, the day we celebrate the end of slavery, the day we memorialize those who offered us hope for the future and the day when we renew our commitment to the struggle for freedom.
-Angela Davis
Won’t it be wonderful when Black history and Native American history and Jewish history and all of U.S. history is taught from one book. Just U.S. history.
-Maya Angelou
We all require and want respect, man or woman, Black or white. It’s our basic human right.
-Aretha Franklin
If you dare to struggle, you dare to win. If you dare not struggle, then damn it, you don’t deserve to win.
-Fred Hampton
I think Juneteenth feels a little different now. It’s an opportunity for folks to kind of catch their breath about what has been this incredible pace of change and shifting that we’ve seen over the last couple of weeks.
-Mark Anthony Neal
Whether we are born here or seek refuge here, there’s a place for us all. We must remember it’s not my America or your America. It’s our America.
-Michelle Obama
The proclamation notes that freedom shall not be repressed. This is what I believe to be the primary significance of Juneteenth.
-Theodorea Regina Berrya
Freedom is not something that one people can bestow on another as a gift. They claim it as their own and none can keep it from them.
-Kwame Nkrumah
Juneteenth has never been a celebration of victory or an acceptance of the way things are. It’s a celebration of progress. It’s an affirmation that despite the most painful parts of our history, change is possible—and there is still so much work to do.
-Barack Obama
You can’t separate peace from freedom, because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom.
-Malcolm X
Juneteenth means so much to me. It represents the freedom that my ancestors fought so tirelessly for. But rather than focusing on the brutalization of my people then and now. I choose to focus on hope. June 19th reminds me that I am the force of power to change this world and to follow in the footsteps of my ancestors to work towards liberation.
-Mariah Cooley
There’s no other race, to me, that has such a tough history for hundreds and hundreds of years, and only the strong survive, so we were the strongest and the most mentally tough, and I’m really proud to wear this color every single day of my life.
-Serena Williams
No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.
-Nelson Mandela
CHECK OUT UMT’S JUNETEENTH ARCHIVE:
- What is Juneteenth?
- The Hey Girl Hey Podcast: Happy Juneteeth!
- Biden signs law making Juneteenth a federal holiday — but some remain unimpressed
- Are you ready for a Juneteenth musical?
- Urban Media Today Talks Sports Juneteenth Edition
Photo Credit: galvestonhistory.org