Sister Tess Browne offered a message for Juneteenth, highlighting the continued struggle for justice:
“The various observances of Juneteenth today are signs of the continued persistence, resistance and solidarity, in the midst of massive efforts to erase and disappear the history and contributions of BIPOC persons in the U.S. Siyahamba, we are marching…We keep on marching.
I share with you this Juneteenth message from Rev. June Cooper, a friend and colleague.”
Juneteenth is upon us. And we need it now.
This year marks the 160th anniversary of the day Union Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, with news that enslaved people in the state were free. Although the Emancipation Proclamation took effect in 1863 and the Civil War ended in May 1865, many enslaved individuals were not informed of their freedom until June 19, 1865.
They were freed with nothing but the clothes on their backs. No reparations. No back pay.
Phillis Wheatley, the first published African American poet, and member of the Old South Church Meeting House, and now Patron Saint at Old South Church in Boston, wrote these words in 1774, “In every human breast God has implanted a principle which we call love of freedom; it is impatient of oppression, and pants for deliverance, and the same principle lives in us.”
Yet slavery did not vanish. It evolved. Systems of inequality and injustice have persisted. Still, Black communities have continued to rise, advancing civil rights, leading movements for justice, and making historic strides.
Juneteenth is also a time of reflection. The work of truth-telling and preservation of history faces challenges. Institutions that share these stories must continue to be supported. Juneteenth reminds us of the strength and resilience of those who came before us, who were never passive recipients of freedom. They believed in something better and worked toward it.
The observance invites people of faith to consider what freedom truly means. Is it only the absence of chains? Or is it the presence of justice, dignity, and opportunity for all?
Freedom is not a destination we have reached, but a road we continue to walk. In Luke 4:18, Jesus proclaims freedom for the captives and release for the oppressed. That call still speaks to us. As Rev. Howard Thurman said, “Ask what makes you come alive and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
We are called to continue the work. We face fear with courage, and walk together in truth and love, with the conviction that liberty and justice must be for all.
Our God is marching on.
“Lift Every Voice and Sing” – James Weldon Johnson (1899)Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.Sing a song full of the lessons the dark past has taught us.Sing a song full of the hope the present has brought us.Let us march on till victory is won.