Pleasure Activism and Juneteenth
How "just a little old lady in tennis shoes getting in everybody’s business" changed the day.
Today marks the first National Day of Observance for Juneteenth.
Juneteenth commemorates the moment when enslaved people in Texas learned of the emancipation proclamation, 2 ½ years after the fact. This day has been celebrated by African Americans since the late 19th century. This week’s legislation provides an opportunity for all Americans to contemplate the significance of this day and create traditions to honor and celebrate it.
One of the people we can look to for guidance on this is Ms. Opal Lee of Fort Worth, Texas. At age 94, she is called the “Grandmother of Juneteenth.” It is not just about celebrating. Her efforts to establish Juneteenth as a holiday have addressed homelessness, joblessness, pay equity, climate change, education, and homeownership.
In an interview with N. Jamiyla Chisholm of the Colorlines, Ms. Lee describes one of the traditions she has helped create.
“We get the children of all nationalities together and they practice music for a week. Then they do a concert of the different songs they’ve learned from the different ethnic groups. The children were also given 12 freedoms gained. When the enslaved were freed, they gained the opportunity to learn to read and write. They were free to name themselves. They were free to not let their children be taken from them. They were free to buy property. Twelve freedoms they gained and 12 is what was given to the 800 children who then created drawings about these freedoms.”
To me, this is pleasure activism at its finest—collective joy as a vehicle for equality and justice. “You cannot imagine how joyful, how humble, how magnificent the whole thing has been,” Ms. Opal Lee said in this marvelous video made for the White House.
I highly recommend the entire interview over at Colorlines and watching the video that honors her contributions to the movement.
May we all find a way to impact and uplift the lives of those around us with the spirit and joy and pleasure that Ms. Opal Lee brings to the world.
From the Institute of Pleasure Studies
Interview with Ms. Opal Lee in Colorlines by N. Jamiyla Chisholm
Reflections, a visual Poem by artist and historian Kamau Ware to commemorate Juneteenth
White House Interview with Opal Lee
Thank you for sharing my Colorlines interview with Ms. Opal Lee; she is such an inspiration and has found so much joy to share via her activism.