This audio postcard was produced by The Public’s Radio South County Bureau Reporter Alex Nunes.
Listen to the story or read the transcript below:
[Drumming and sound of audience.]
Joshua [speaking to crowd]: Juneteenth has never been a celebration of victory or an acceptance of the way things are. It’s a celebration of progress. It’s an affirmation that despite the most painful parts of our history, change is possible, and there is still so much work to do.
Joshua [speaking in interview]: Hello, my name is Joshua. I’m in fifth grade.
Basically what I learned in school was that Juneteenth is a national celebration, because the slaves didn’t know that slavery was over.
Kaelynn: And they found out later because the slave masters didn’t want to tell them so that they can keep them for a little bit longer.
Hello, my name is Kaelynn. I’m in fifth grade.
For me it is inspiring because just the thought of, like, knowing that African American slaves are free and they don’t have to suffer.
[Reading from “The Hill We Climb” by Amanda Gorman.]
We seek harm to none and harmony for all.
Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true,
that even as we grieved, we grew,
that even as we hurt, we hoped,
that even as we tired, we tried,
that we’ll forever be tied together, victorious.
Not because we will never again know defeat,
but because we will never again sow division.
[Students singing “Wavin’ Flag” by K’NAAN.]
Helen: Hello, my name is Helen, and I’m in the fifth grade. Just because the president back then said that slavery was over, people today still, like, are racist towards a Black person, which is very sad. And I think that needs to change.
Joshua: I want people to think that it’s good to be Black and not bad to be a different color. And I want people to think that they shouldn’t be racist or unaffectionate to other people who are a different race or color.
[Students singing along to “My Black Is Beautiful” by Lovely Hoffman.]
Joshua [in performance]: Today on Juneteenth, the day we celebrate the end of slavery, the day we remember, memorialize those who offered us hope for the future, and the days when we renew our commitment to the struggle. And now for our grand finale, “The Harriet Tubman Song,” dedicated to the ancestors.
[Students singing “Wade in the water.”]
Kaelynn: We did a lot of studying about her and how she saved other slaves and she got them to escape.
Helen: We also thought about things that was important that she did and we wrote it down, and we just put it in the song.
[Students singing original lyrics to “Harriet the Hero.”]
She followed her heart, she followed a star
To the north even though she didn’t have a car
She didn’t have a compass, but she still went far.
She escaped from the south using the north star.
Nothing, stopped her from trying to escape.
Song of a slave who saved, other slaves
Call her the savior, she was very brave,
She never gave up, a hero to this day
Kaelynn: We want people to think that Harriet is a hero and Juneteenth is a holiday that is very special. And people should really think about how they treat people with different colors, no matter what their race is–Hispanic, African American, anything. You should treat people the same that you would want to be treated.
[Students singing original lyrics to “Harriet the Hero.”]
She looked up to the stars for the light
And the stars started to guide her right
She led more slaves out, without a doubt
As a spy and scout, for the Union clout
As a nurse, she had to keep a wide eye
On her job and help others, so they could survive.
She was not shy and she never denied…
Alex Nunes can be reached at anunes@thepublicsradio.org
