Juneteenth & Solidarity
How Liberation is Collective
What is Juneteenth?
Celebrated annually on the 19th of June, Juneteenth is a holiday to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved people in the U.S.
First celebrated in Galveston Texas in 1865 where on June 19, 1865, 2 years after the end of the Civil War, enslaved people received news that they were declared free under the terms of the 1862 Emancipation Proclamation.
Juneteenth recognizes this delay in the recognition of freedom, and the ongoing struggle for equality and justice.
The Civil Rights Movement
Liberation didn’t end with Juneteenth, it evolved. Black leaders carried the torch of freedom forward, demanding justice, dignity, and equality.
Martin Luther King Jr.
Led the fight for civil rights through nonviolent protests, pushing for desegregation, voting rights, and economic justice through campaigns like the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the March on Washington.
Ella Baker
A behind-the-scenes strategist who emphasized grassroots organizing and helped found the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). She believed in the power of everyday people to lead movements.
Fannie Lou Hamer
A fierce voting rights activist and co-founder of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. Famously said: “I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired.”
Malcolm X
Advocated for Black dignity, self-defense, and global Black liberation. His Pan-Africanist vision deeply influenced solidarity work across racial and national boundaries.
Leadership from the civil rights movement didn’t just change laws, it changed global views on freedom and protest.
From the Civil Rights Movement came a ripple effect:
The Asian American movement (1960s -70s)
Indigenous land sovereignty struggles (1960s)
Immigrant rights campaigns (1990s -2000s)
Historical Cross-Racial Solidarity
Fred Korematsu
A Japanese American civil rights activist, Korematsu famously resisted the WWII internment of Japanese Americans, leading to the landmark case Korematsu v. United States (1944).
After the war, he became an outspoken advocate for civil liberties across communities, not just Japanese Americans.
In the 1980s–2000s, he spoke out for Arab and Muslim communities facing post-9/11 surveillance and joined in solidarity with Black civil rights leaders to defend constitutional rights for all.
Yuri Kochiyama
A Japanese American civil rights activist, Kochiyama fought alongside Malcolm X and advocated for Black liberation, reparations, and political prisoners' rights.
Put in an internment camp during WWII along with being present during Malcolm X’s assassination, the experiences shaped her fierce lifelong activism.
Kochiyama went on to support Puerto Rican independence, Palestinian liberation, and reparations for Black Americans.
Grace Lee Boggs
Boggs was a Chinese American activist, philosopher and writer deeply involved in the black liberation movement for over 60 years in Detroit.
Partnering with her husband, James Boggs, the two supported the Detroit black power movement, labor rights, grassroots organizing, and educational justice through community-based activism.
Boggs advocated for revolutionary change through coalition building between communities of color and the working class.
Linda Sarsour
Sarsour is a Palestinian American Muslim organizer and the co-founder of MPower Change. She is a vocal supporter of the Movement for Black Lives, consistently showing up in protest and policy work.
Her work includes advocating for the demilitarization of police, ending mass incarceration, and dismantling systemic racism. She co-chaired the 2017 Women’s March, centering racial justice, Islamophobia, and anti-Blackness together.
Sarsour works alongside Black organizers to build bridges between Black, Arab, Muslim, and immigrant communities.
True Solidarity
Solidarity isn’t a statement. It’s sustained action.
Show up for Black-led protests and events
Challenge anti-Blackness in your own community
Advocate for inclusive, anti-racist policies at work, school, and beyond
How to be an active ally this Juneteenth. Don’t just post, participate.
Attend a Juneteenth celebration near you
Donate to Black-led grassroots orgs
Educate yourself & others on Black history
Uplift Black voices year-round
Speak up when you witness hate or bias
Take Action
Support your local BIPOC led organizations doing social justice work:
@cair_national
@blmlosangeles
@blklivesmatter
@aapiforblacklivesmatter
