Frankly Speaking

. . . Truth to Power joyfully — a weblog by Amilcar Shabazz

JUNETEENTH 2013 in the Pioneer Valley

Posted by Shabazz on April 30th, 2013

WELCOME TO THE 2013 JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION
IN THE PIONEER VALLEY!

* ART | CULTURE | FUN | FAMILY |COMMUNITY RECOGNITIONS |EMPOWERMENT *

Juneteenth observes the June 19th, 1865, proclamation of the abolition of slavery in Texas. It celebrates freedom for people of all backgrounds, with a focus on its meaning for today’s youth.

June

Wednesday, June 19, 2013, 1-7PM | Amherst Town Commons

We will focus on Youth Empowerment and offer community recognitions to a number of individuals who have made significant contributions to freedom in our community

MORE DETAILS TO COME. TO BE A SPONSOR/SUPPORTER, CONTACT: amilcarshabazz@gmail.com

This event is organized by the Juneteenth Committee whose members includeTrevor Baptiste, Member of the Amherst-Pelham Regional School CommitteeEdward Cage, Vice President and Chair of the Fundraising Committee of the Amherst Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; and Amilcar Shabazz, Vice Chair of the Amherst Regional Public School Committee. These organizations are mentioned for identification purposes only. The event is not a sanctioned activity of the Amherst Regional Public Schools, UMass Amherst, Amherst College, the Town of Amherst, or any other institution. Having said that, everyone is welcome to attend and participate! Portions of the event will be videotaped for airing on Amherst Media

Links:

http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/lkj01

https://www.tsl.state.tx.us/ref/abouttx/juneteenth.html

Selected Presentations on Juneteenth by Amilcar Shabazz:

Justice for Charles Wilhite Juneteenth Celebration by Blackstonian (Springfield, MA). 6/23/2012

Juneteenth highlights pride in Fourth Ward.” By Mike Tolson for the Houston Chronicle | June 18, 2006. Quoting from my speech at  at Mount Horeb MSB (Houston, TX). 6/17/2006

“Educational Equality & the Heart of Texas’ Freedom Struggle: From Juneteenth to LBJ.” Sam Houston State University History Department Annual Lecture (Huntsville, TX). 3/30/2004

“On the Meaning of Juneteenth.” The Safehouse Historic Museum of Black Belt Cultural and Civil Rights History Juneteenth Freedom Festival (Greensboro, AL). 6/28/2003

“Juneteenth: Origins and Significance.” The Texas Emancipation Juneteenth Historical Commission’s History Symposium at the State Capitol; (Austin, TX). 12/11/1998

“The Pillars of Freedom: Constructing Community after Juneteenth.” University of Texas Institute of Texan Cultures (San Antonio, TX). 1/26/1997

The actual Juneteenth proclamation went along these lines: 

Headquarters, District of Texas
Galveston, Texas, June 19, 1865General Orders, No. 3.
The people are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property, between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them, becomes that between employer and hired labor. — The Freedmen are advised to remain at their present homes, and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts; and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere. By order of Major General Granger

(Signed,) F. W. Emery, Maj. & A.A.G.

As reported in The Galveston Daily News, June 21, 1865

Thus, the Emancipation Proclamation’s effective date of January 1, 1863, nor the end of the Civil War on April 9, 1865, mark the official end of African American enslavement in the U.S. It was June 19, 1865, when the end of slavery was enforced in Texas. Of course, the Thirteenth Amendment, effective December 1865, abolished slavery throughout the entire United States, including the Border states and the Indian territories. Juneteenth is celebrated with the conviction that slavery was abolished only when it was abolished for all.

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Celebrating MLK Day 2013 in Noho

Posted by Shabazz on January 14th, 2013

If you’re in the Pioneer Valley, consider attending the events below:

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Spring 2013 Course Build

Posted by Shabazz on October 30th, 2012

238

Shabazz

24445

Arts & Cultural Identity

Thur 4-6:30 p.m.

NAH 311?

45

3

264

Shabazz

10552

Foundation of Black Education in U.S.

Tues 4-6:30 p.m.

LGRT 103

77

3

D01

24446

TA: Rosa Clemente

W 10:10-11:00

NAH 311

25

D02

24447

F 10:10-11:00

NAH 311

25

D03

24448

TA: Peter Blackmer

W 10:10-11:00

NAH 311

25

D04

24449

F 10:10-11:00

NAH 311

25

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FCASC event: Douglas Johnson on Sudan

Posted by Shabazz on September 3rd, 2012

The Five Colleges African Studies Council is bringing Dr. Douglas Johnson, a world authority on Sudan,  will be speaking at three events the first week of October:

Thursday October 4, 11:30-1, “How the Sudanese Civil War Did Not End” in Warbecke Room, Pratt Hall, Mount Holyoke College. (Pratt Hall is off Morgan Street on the South side of the MHC campus.)  Students, faculty, and the public are invited.

Later on Thursday, the World Affairs Council of Western Massachusetts will host a talk  ”Oil, People, and the Border Conflict between Sudan and South Sudan” at 5:30 p.m. at  The Glass Room at Elegant Affairs, 1380 Main Street in downtown Springfield. (The public has to pay for this, Five College guests do not, but it would be useful to rsvp to cmelcher@worldaffairscouncil.com by October 2 so that Cyd knows how much finger food to order for us).

On Friday, October 5 at 12:00 at Five Colleges, 97 Spring Street in Amherst, Doug will speak to the African Studies Council and other interested faculty on the archives project in Juba, which he tried to begin over 30 years ago, and which is continuing with the support of the Rift Valley Institute and other organizations.
Johnson has worked on the Sudan peace process for decades. He served in the 2003 Sudan Comprehensive Peace Agreement negotiations over the Three Areas (Abyei, Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile) and later became a member of the Abyei Boundary Commission. Since then, he has advised the Government of South Sudan on North-South boundary issues.

Johnson is the author the author of  “When Boundaries become Borders (Rift Valley Institute, 2010) and The Root Causes of Sudan’s Civil Wars: Peace or Truce? (James Currey, revised edition 2011).

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Glen Ford: Corporate Assault on Public Education

Posted by Shabazz on June 1st, 2012

YouTube Preview Image

http://blackagendareport.com/content/glen-ford-corporate-assault-public-education

Recall the passage:

Shame. Shame and self-contempt. Nausea. When people like me, they tell me it is in spite of my color. When they dislike me, they point out that it is not because of my color. Either way, I am locked in the infernal circle. I turn away from these inspectors of the Ark before the Flood and I attach myself to my brothers, Negroes like myself. To my horror, they too reject me. – Frantz Fanon, Black Skin, White Masks (1952)

Ford’s “black Trojan Horses” draws us to Fanon’s “Fact of Blackness”

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