What is Juneteenth?

In case you aren’t familiar with Juneteenth, let’s start with a brief history lesson.  On January 1, 1863, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation which, in theory, ended slavery in America.  (It didn’t technically, but the technicalities are beyond the scope of this post.)  But given that this was 1863 and they couldn’t overnight a letter, let alone Tweet about it, it took a while for news to propagate across the continent.

On June 19, 1866, word finally came to Texas, resulting in — as I’m sure you can imagine — much jubilation.  June 19th was ellided (I think that’s the right word) to “Juneteenth,” and Juneteenth has come to symbolically represent the end of slavery in the U.S.  In a manner of speaking, it’s a bit like a second Independence Day, and I think it’s pretty significant for us as a nation, because we can’t actually effect the values spelled out in the Declaration of Independence while treating an entire ethnic group as second-class.

(Side note: there are bills in both houses of Congress right now to declare Juneteenth a national holiday, and both bills are languishing in committee.  If this is something you believe in, you might consider sending a note to the committee members and asking them to actually pass one. [UPDATE: The Senate bill passed!])

The flag is a more modern invention, and you can learn more about the symbolism of it here or here.

How is Juneteenth Celebrated?

Juneteenth is typically celebrated in a very similar fashion to the way Independence Day traditionally is, with barbecues and other street celebrations.  Strawberry lemonade is traditional — I’m given to understand for two reasons.

1) This beverage was not readily available to slaves, so newly-freed individuals drank it to celebrate their newfound freedom.
2) Red foods in general are traditional, to symbolize the blood of slavery.

This includes other red foods, as well, like red velvet cake.  And, given that Juneteenth originated in Texas, hot links are also a major traditional food (often dyed red).

If you don’t want to buy, or can’t find, strawberry soda, you can buy strawberry soda syrup, or make your own with sugar or honey.  (Try about 1-2 Tbsp. of the syrup in 8 oz. seltzer water.)  For a less traditional, but healthier, option, you can go with strawberry lemonade water kefir.

Preserving Your Memories

If you’re celebrating Juneteenth, you’ll want to preserve your memories, too — and relevant scrapbook parts are tough to find.  Chronic illness kicked my butt last month, so I’m way late for the PixelScrapper June blog train, but I’ve made a digital scrapbooking kit (a set of elements and coordinating papers) for you to commemorate your Juneteenth celebration.

Most of the elements will be pretty self-explanatory.  I took my inspiration for a couple of the patterned papers from African mudcloth & similar fabrics, and from the kind of calico dresses might have been made from in the 1860s, and that often eventually found their way into quilts like those that mapped the Underground Railroad.

Commercial use is okay for these kits, but not commercial-use-for-commercial-use.  (That is, you may use them to make layouts for commercial purposes, but don’t use them to make and sell new elements.  And hopefully it goes without saying, but don’t sell the actual elements.)