Maya Angelou – “And I Still Rise”
In honor of Juneteenth 2020
Maya Angelou – “And I Still Rise”
“Even though the Emancipation Proclamation was made effective in 1863, it could not be implemented in places still under Confederate control. As a result, in the westernmost Confederate state of Texas, enslaved people would not be free until much later. Freedom finally came on June 19, 1865, when some 2,000 Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas. The army announced that the more than 250,000 enslaved black people in the state, were free by executive decree. This day came to be known as “Juneteenth,” by the newly freed people in Texas.”
The above, quoted from The National Museum of African American History & Culture’s website:
The Historical Legacy of Juneteenth
Please sign the petition to make Juneteenth a national holiday:
https://www.change.org/p/united-states-congress-make-juneteenth-a-national-holiday-in-2020
More information about Maya Angelou (1928-2014):
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/maya-angelou
https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/maya-angelous-civil-rights-legacy/
Related MALC Blog post: Thank You to Those Who Are Taking Action:
http://artistsunderthedome.org/malc/news/thank-you-to-those-taking-action-black-lives-matter/