Macedonia Baptist Church Praise Dance Team member Helena Ragan (L) ties a scarf on partner Crystal Gwaltney before their performance at the 2004 Juneteenth Freedom Festival/Picnic at Comanche Park in San Antonio, Texas (© Bob Owen, ZUMAPress.com)
"America needs healing from the scars of enslavement," Myers wrote in the letter. "The annual observance of Juneteenth in America affords the country a tremendous opportunity to constructively reflect on our legacy of enslavement and move forward as a unified nation. As the leader of our country, your public participation in Juneteenth will be instrumental in bringing all Americans together in a spirit of unity and reconciliation."
Here's a roundup of Juneteenth-related events in different states:
Texas
As you might expect, there are several Juneteenth-related events in Texas, where the observance began. The Galveston Historical Foundation will present Edward T. Cotham Jr., a noted historian, author and lecturer on Civil War history. Cotham will speak about Gen. Granger and the origins of Juneteenth at the Menard Campus, 3302 Avenue O, in Galveston on Sunday, June 17, at 2 p.m. The price for the lecture is $12 for non-members, $10 for Foundation members. Reservations are recommended; call (409) 765-3409.
On Saturday, June 16, the annual Juneteenth Cultural Festival--said to be the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of slavery's end in the United States--opens in Dallas' Fair Park. The Dallas festival will highlight a variety of events combining culture, health and educational topics.
Aaron McCargo Jr., a celebrity chef featured on the Food Network's "Big Daddy's House," will feature in two live cooking demonstrations, preparing special recipes developed with Fresenius Medical Care, dishes meant to show local dialysis patients, their friends and families how life with kidney disease can be improved with proper diet.
The festival's concert series will features local talent, including Rumill, Dallas' own multihyphenate phenom (singer, actor, model) and Anonymous Culture, a rapper and songwriter from the Big D. The Peterson Brothers Band, a rising group of blues talents hailing from Bastrop, Texas, will perform, as well as several dance troupes including the Dallas Black Dance Theater, the Arga Nova Dance Company, HappyNia Dance Theater Productions, Exhibit Dance Collective and the Badan Koro African Dance Company.
