On Juneteenth, ICNA CSJ hosted a webinar where we reflected on African American struggle in this country today and also spoke about the historic events that have led up to today. Imam Khalid Griggs, Sr. Aisha al-Adawiya, and Imam Dawud Walid spoke during the webinar.
Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. Annual Juneteenth celebrations started in 1866. The celebrations were originally community-centered affairs based in Black churches in Texas. During the 1920s, the Juneteenth gatherings took on a more secular celebratory nature as the events tended to be held outside of churches. Beginning in the 1930’s African Americans across the nation started to organize Juneteenth celebrations. By the 1950s Juneteenth events could be found in all of the major cities in the United States.
