Kesha Ram, Joy Dixon, and Hope Lindsay host a gathering and walk on Church Street in honor of Juneteenth, a month-long celebration that represents the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States.
On June 14 at 10:30 am on the steps of Burlington City Hall, speakers and invited participants congregate to recognize Juneteenth. Juneteenth honores June 19, the day in 1865 when news of emancipation and the end of the Civil War reached Texas and the last slaves learned they were free. The event also honors the lives of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, David McAtee, and all past and recent victims of racialized terror. Additionally, speakers shed light on the inequitable experiences of Black Americans preceding the COVID-19 outbreak that have been further exacerbated in the health, economic, and political response to the pandemic.
Remarks will be delivered by:
Katrina Battle, Black Lives Matter of Greater Burlington Leader
Kyle Dodson, Executive Director of the YMCA of Greater Burlington
Harmony Edosomwan, Local Activist & Artist
Dr. Wanda Heading-Grant, University of Vermont Vice President for Human Resources, Diversity & Multicultural Affairs
Jabari Jones, Local Racial Justice Activist, Healer & Baker
Rev. Shannon MacVean-Brown, Episcopal Bishop of Vermont
Maroni Minter, ACLU of Vermont
Skyler Nash, Criminal Justice Reform Advocate
