One of my favorite quotes is by civil rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer: “Nobody’s free until everybody is free.” A sharecropper from Mississippi, Hamer knew what it was like to be deprived of her human and constitutional rights, so she became an activist—not just for herself but for others as well. This week, as we celebrate Juneteenth, it’s critical to remember the ongoing work of liberation. It is not enough to celebrate; we must also continue to fight until everyone is free.

First, we take a look at a story featuring Opal Lee, the grandmother of Juneteenth, who, at the age of 89, walked from Fort Worth, TX, to Washington, DC, to advocate for Juneteenth to become a federal holiday. Next, in a story by Chinyere Tutashinda, we highlight the Black protesters who put their bodies on the line in the summer of 2020, igniting conversations about structural inequality and paving the way for political leaders to call for the acknowledgment of Juneteenth as a federal holiday. Then, we revisit a 2022 story by Kitana Ananda about how the Black Power Migrant Fund—spurred to action by visceral photos of Haitian asylum-seekers at the Texas border—ignited a Juneteenth-centered campaign to fund Black migrant power. Finally, we invite you to check out more stories from NPQ’s Juneteenth collection, featuring stories we’ve published that center freedom. Whether you call it Emancipation Day, Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Black Independence Day, Juneteenth Independence Day, or just Juneteenth, this collection is a reminder to celebrate both the idea and the experience of freedom.

Thanks for reading,

Rebekah Barber
Staff Writer, NPQ