"Juneteenth is an important milestone in American culture. It represents resistance, resilience, and Black Joy," says Utieyin Ekwejunor-Etchie. "First, let's get to the real story behind Juneteenth because it's a story that's not told nearly enough."

"Uplifting Black Joy, in the midst of a revolution, takes me to the core of what it means to be Black in America, now and across our history. America, you give us scraps, we give you a masterful quilt. You give us your dying soil, we give you the stability of an agricultural economy. You give us hardship, we give you creativity. You make us work long hours in the sun of the Deep South, we couple our work songs with African rhythm and give you the Blues. You give us segregation, we give you Historically Black Colleges and Universities. We give you Black Excellence.

Black people are tired. But we have a flame that—though it may flicker—never fully extinguishes. That light is our joy. That joy is an act of resistance against systems of oppression."

"It took a few months for hotline calls to start increasing, said Linley Beckbridge, communications and outreach director at Doorways, a domestic violence shelter in Arlington, Va. — but when they did, the reports were 'much more severe' than usual."