![]() ![]() She hopes making Juneteenth a federal holiday provides it "a larger claim on the American consciousness" - and an opportunity to reflect on "the complicated and treacherous path that we often have to walk to guarantee liberty for ourselves and others." "It's a symptom of violence, of intolerance, of hatred, of terrorism that we've seen inflicted against African Americans for centuries." "If you're paying attention to the African-American condition, it's not surprising," Gorman said of the attacks. This year's Juneteenth takes place in the shadow of televised hearings by the House committee investigating that insurrection, as well as a mass shooting that targeted a Black community in Buffalo, N.Y., last month. Capitol in a day of deadly white supremacist violence. It was an inauguration held under tight security just two weeks after a mob of supporters of the previous president, Donald Trump, stormed the U.S. "We are celebrating African American liberty, but a liberty that has typically come delayed, a liberty that was not promised but something that we continuously have to fight for. it wasn't something that we need permission to look at," the first national youth poet laureate said in an interview on NPR's Morning Edition ahead of Sunday's holiday. "African Americans and also communities beyond that have been celebrating Juneteenth for generations without it being federalized. Gorman, the first national youth poet laureate, wonders how that federal recognition will change celebrations. ![]() government on Sunday will observe the holiday, which marks the effective end of chattel slavery following the U.S. Growing up in Los Angeles, Amanda Gorman's family would mark Juneteenth by going to an African American history museum or celebrating and reflecting with her church and community.įor the second year, the U.S. Amanda Gorman was the youngest inaugural poet when she read "The Hill We Climb" at President Joe Biden's inauguration in January 2021 at the age of 22. ![]()
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