17 Jun NYSCASA Honors Juneteenth 2021

On June 19, 1865, Union troops arrived in Galveston, TX, to announce the end of the American Civil War and to free the last enslaved people in the US, two years after Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. Although slavery wouldn’t legally end in all states until the December 1865 ratification of the 13th Amendment, June 19—or Juneteenth—is honored as a day to commemorate freedom, particularly for Black People of Color, and to remind ourselves that the fight for liberation continues long after the official abolition of slavery.

Today, we honor those who have fought and organized for liberation for all in the past and present. In particular, we honor Black Women of Color organizers and survivor-activists working for abolition and liberation and who continue to call on the anti-sexual violence movement to develop strategies that address both state and interpersonal violence.

Further Reading:

• What Is Juneteenth, How Is It Celebrated, and Why Does It Matter? (Teen Vogue)
• On Juneteenth, Let’s Commit to Learning How to Abolish Oppressive Institutions (Truthout)
• We Can’t End Sexual Violence Without Ending Racism (Resource collection by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center)
• 2001 Statement on Gender Violence and the Prison Industrial Complex (INCITE! and Critical Resistance)
• 2020 Moment of Truth Statement
• You Can’t End Violence With More Violence: Shifting From Incarceration to Accountability (Mariame Kaba and Shira Hassan, interviewed by Sarah Jaffe on Truthout)
• National Sexual Violence Resource Center & Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape Honor Juneteenth (NSVRC/PCAR)
• ValorUS Commemorates Juneteenth: The Remnants of Rape within the Institution of Slavery Still Remain (ValorUS)