Juneteenth: How to Take Action & Talk to Your Kids

On June 19, 1865, Black communities in Texas finally received the news that they were free.

Juneteenth (June 19th) is a day that honors Black freedom and Black resistance, and centers Black people’s unique contribution to the struggle for justice in the U.S. This Juneteenth is a rare moment for our communities to proclaim in one voice that Black Lives Matter, and that we won’t tolerate anything less than justice for all black lives.

Talk to your kids about Juneteenth, what it stands for, why its important to acknowledge always, and especially today. Check out this  list of book recommendations from the New York Public Library system for kids, on Juneteenth.  Connect the dots for your kids between COVID19, racial injustice and the climate crisis. Ask the kids in your life to share their thoughts, concerns and hopes.

Also, together with the kids in your life, pledge to join the Poor Peoples Campaign on June 20th;  a movement to unite the 140 million poor and low-income people across this country. After you take the pledge you’ll have the chance to take a selfie to join the digital assembly and march. Then make sure to watch the livestream at 10am and 6pm EST on June 20th, and again at 6pm on June 21st.

Remind the kids in your life, that right now, uprisings are taking place in all 50 states, and more than two-thirds of Americans agree that police violence is systemic. The Movement for Black Lives is alive and vibrant.

In response to the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and countless other Black people who have been killed at the hands of vigilanties or law enforcement, millions have taken to the streets, with a clear and distinct call to end police violence and to defund police. Combined with COVID-19 and four years of Trumpism, Black communities are demanding: justice; accountability; a divestment from policing; and an investment in healthy, sustainable communities.

Join us on the #SixNineteen mobilization on Juneteenth weekend, June 19–21, 2020. Take action in front of the White House, in your community, or at home.

#SixNineteen
#DefendBlackLives
#BlackLivesMatter
#DefundPolice

Yours,

ClimateMama