Juneteenth and Pride as Liberation

This is a sacred day. While in my time zone it's already June 20th, right now my siblings in the US are currently celebrating Juneteenth. June 19th marks the day formerly enslaved Black Texans learned of their liberation. "The formerly enslaved immediately began to celebrate with prayer, feasting, song, and dance.”

Pride as Sacrifice

In the early hours of June 28, 1969, a woman named Stormé DeLarverie was unjustly handcuffed, arrested, and imprisoned. While she was only one of many people treated that way by law enforcement that night, Stormé’s unjust arrest and public humiliation became a pivotal moment in the fight for gay rights. The events of that night ignited the Stonewall uprising and changed the course of LGBTQIA+ history.