Juneteenth comes via the web this year

This year's Juneteenth celebration in the Chippewa Valley will be a totally virtual event. The coronavirus pandemic is affecting more of our lives all the time, and this is no exception.

The celebration begins at 9 AM tomorrow and runs until 8 PM. It will be focused on three primary issues: police brutality, education on race issues, and race in everyday life.

Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration of the ending of slavery in the United States. Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19 that Union soldiers, led by Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas, with news that the war had ended and the enslaved were now free. Today, Juneteenth commemorates African American freedom and emphasizes education and achievement. In cities across the country, people of all races, nationalities and religions join to acknowledge a period in our history that shaped and continues to influence our society.

The schedule of events is as follows (but is subject to change):

9:00am Exploring Race in American History
*Reading of the Black Codes
*Explanation of Jim Crow (Selika Ducksworth-Lawton and Le’Trice
Donaldson)
*How the Past Meets the Present
*Mythology of the West & The Lost Cause (John Mann and
Carrie Ronnader)
*Colonialization and the Link to Slavery (Louisa Rice and
Andrew Stervent)
*Lessons from the 1967 Milwaukee Riots (Paul Erger)
*Monuments & Memory (Cheryl Jimenez-Frei)

12:00pm Juneteenth Media Panel
Discussing media coverage of protest and working with the community (Zach Perlutsky of WEAU, Eric Lindquist of Leader-Telegram, Julian Emerson of UpNorth News, and Noah Ovshinsky of WPR; moderated by Jan Larson)

1:30pm Breakout Sessions
*Hmong People in the Age of George Floyd (Pa Vang, Caitlyn
Lee, and Dang Yang)
*How to Protest Nonviolently (Selika Ducksworth-Lawton)
*Holding Critical Race Discussion (Patricia Turner)
*Black Masculinity and Issues (David Carlson)

3:00pm De-Escalation Training (Isa Small)

4:30pm Altoona Juneteenth Celebration
Speeches by Mayor Brendan Pratt, Police Chief Kelly Bakken, Selika Ducksworth-Lawton, AHS Principal Jim Reif, and Breana Stanley

5:30pm Juneteenth Musical Interlude (CollECtive Choir, Naalia, and Irie Sol)

6:30pm A Community Conversation about Race (moderated by Ed Hudgins)

Uniting Bridges of Eau Claire organizes the Chippewa Valley’s Juneteenth celebration each year. This year, the event is sponsored by the City of Eau Claire, the City of Altoona, Converge Radio, the UWEC Office of the Chancellor, the UWEC Office of Multicultural Affairs, the UWEC Office of Affirmative Action, the UWEC History Department, and Visit Eau Claire (among others). For more information, visit the event's Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/events/550554058949880) or contact Selika Ducksworth-Lawton at 715-836-4886 or [email protected].

All events will be presented through Zoom. Please reserve tickets at the following site:
https://www.eventbrite.com/x/city-of-eau-claire-and-altoona-juneteenth-celebration-tickets-109560404118. The event will also be livestreamed from the Tomme Suab Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/tommesuab/).