Activist allege hundreds of ‘missing African American burial plots’

Metro Atlanta families allege plots of loved ones are ‘missing’ after a reburial project set for completion six years ago. The Clayton and Henry County Chapter of National Action Network (NAN) is accusing the property owners of not following through on a plan to move all the burials 10 minutes away to Carver Memorial Gardens.

Don't let Juneteenth be just another day off

By George L. Cook III African American Reports

Juneteenth marks the day when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1865 to take control of the state and ensure that all enslaved people be freed. The troops’ arrival came a full two and a half years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Juneteenth honors the end of slavery in the United States and is considered the longest-running African American holiday.

Juneteenth is now a federal holiday and it's being recognized by more companies and states every year. Juneteenth is also being quickly commercialized as we saw with Walmart's Juneteenth ice cream fiasco and is in danger of just becoming another day off.

Cookouts and Juneteenth ceremonies will be everywhere this weekend, and that's okay. But let's not lose the meaning behind the holiday.

Juneteenth is a holiday that celebrates freedom which is why it's also known as Freedom Day and Liberation Day among other names. The Juneteenth weekend is time to reflect on what the Emancipation Proclamation did and didn't do for freed slaves. It's also a day to also reflect on the 13th Amendment which also in some ways kept certain forms of slavery legal.

It's also a day to question if even now in the 21st Century whether Black Americans are truly free. A legitimate question as voting rights, police reform, income inequality, and quality education and housing are still issues long after the slaves were "freed".

So enjoy the holiday but just remember it's a lot more than cookouts and Red Velvet Cake.

Happy Juneteenth.

George L. Cook III African American Reports.

California changes name of Negro Bar Park

A Folsom-area park will have a temporary new name after a unanimous vote by the California State Park and Recreation Commission.

The commission voted 7-0 this Friday in favor of changing the name of Negro Bar, an area located inside the Folsom Lake State Recreation Area. The area has a name that a recent campaign says is outdated and discriminatory towards African Americans.

According to California State Parks, officials have been researching the possibility of a name change in the past few years “ given the perception that the place name is derogatory and does not reflect a modern view of inclusion and acceptance of all Californians.”

The area refers to a point along the American River, a ‘bar,’ where up to 600 Black miners and other people settled during the Gold Rush in California’s early history as a state.

According to CSP, the name appears three times on signs located within and near the area, as well as in online and printed materials.

The commission that voted opted to change the name to Black Miners Bar, a temporary name until a more permanent selection is made after more input from the public and government parks officials.

The recent public campaign to change the name started with an online petition by a Stockton resident that visited the area in 2019 and was surprised to see the name of the area contain a word that many people see as a replacement for the n-word.

Her online campaign eventually led to thousands of people signing the petition and the California State Parks taking action to consider the name change.

While the area is temporarily renamed Black Miners Bar, “California State Parks will continue working closely with the California African American Museum, tribal governments and members, stakeholders and members of the public to ensure the new name is appropriate and reflective of its historical significance as a site where Black miners prospected during the Gold Rush era,” according to a CSP news release published Friday.

President Biden nominates Dana M. Douglas for Fifth District Court of Appeals

President Joe Biden is nominating Judge Dana M. Douglas for the United States Fifth District Court of Appeals. If confirmed, Judge Douglas would be the first woman of color to serve on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Prior to joining the bench Douglas was a partner at Liskow & Lewis, where she worked from 2001 to 2018.

Douglas served on the New Orleans Civil Service Commission from 2003 to 2013.

She served as a law clerk for Judge Ivan L. R. Lemelle on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana from 2000 to 2001.

Douglas received her J.D. from Loyola University New Orleans School of Law in 2000 and her B.A. from Miami University of Ohio in 1997.

Among those backing her nomination are Louisiana Senators John Kennedy and Bill Cassidy, former Mayor Marc Morial, now president of the National Urban League, and retired Army Lt. Gen. Russel Honore.

President Biden Proclamation on Juneteenth Day of Observance, 2022

After the Union Army captured New Orleans in 1862, slave owners in Confederate states migrated to Texas with more than 150,000 enslaved Black persons.  For 3 years, even after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, enslaved Black Americans in Texas remained in brutal bondage, immorally and illegally deprived of their freedom and basic dignity.  On June 19, 1865 — over 2 years after President Lincoln declared all enslaved persons free — Major General Gordon Granger and Union Army troops marched to Galveston, Texas, to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation and free the last enslaved Black Americans in Texas. 

     Those who were freed from bondage celebrated their long-overdue emancipation on June 19.  Today, our Nation commemorates Juneteenth:  a chance to celebrate human freedom, reflect on the grievous and ongoing legacy of slavery, and rededicate ourselves to rooting out the systemic racism that continues to plague our society as we strive to deliver the full promise of America to every American.

     This Juneteenth, we are freshly reminded that the poisonous ideology of racism has not yet been defeated — it only hides.  Our Nation continues to mourn the 10 lives senselessly taken in Buffalo, New York, and grieve for the families who have lost a piece of their soul.  As we confront the awful reality of yet another gunman massacring innocent people in the name of hatred, racism, and fear, we must meet this moment with renewed resolve.  We must stand together against white supremacy and show that bigotry and hate have no safe harbor in America. 

      Juneteenth is a day to reflect on both bondage and freedom — a day of both pain and purpose.  It is, in equal measure, a remembrance of both the long, hard night of slavery and subjugation, as well as a celebration of the promise of a brighter morning to come.  On Juneteenth, we remember our extraordinary capacity to heal, to hope, and to emerge from our worst moments as a stronger, freer, and more just Nation.  It is also a day to celebrate the power and resilience of Black Americans, who have endured generations of oppression in the ongoing journey toward equal justice, equal dignity, equal rights, and equal opportunity in America.

     Last year, I was proud to sign bipartisan legislation establishing Juneteenth as our newest Federal holiday, so that all Americans can feel the power of this day, learn from our history, celebrate our progress, and recognize and engage in the work that continues.  Great nations do not ignore their most painful moments — they face them.  We grow stronger as a country when we honestly confront our past injustices, including the profound suffering and injustice wrought by slavery and generations of segregation and discrimination against Black Americans.  To heal, we must remember.  We must never rest until the promise of our Nation is made real for all Americans.

     The emancipation of enslaved Black Americans was not the end of our Nation’s work to deliver on the promise of equality — it was only the beginning.  On Juneteenth, we recommit to our shared work to ensure racial justice, equity, and equality in America.  We commemorate the centuries of struggle and progress led by abolitionists, educators, civil rights advocates, lawyers, activists, trade unionists, religious leaders, public officials, and everyday Americans who have brought our Nation closer to fulfilling its promise. 

     As my good friend, the late Congressman Elijah Cummings, said, “Our children are the living messengers we send to a future we will never see.”  Together as a Nation, let us continue our work together to build a country we are all proud to pass along to our children — one where the foundational promises and ideals of America ring true for every child and every family.

     NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 19, 2022, as Juneteenth Day of Observance.  I call upon the people of the United States to acknowledge and condemn the history of slavery in our Nation and recognize how the impact of America’s original sin remains.  I call on every American to celebrate the emancipation of all Black Americans and commit together to eradicate systemic racism and inequity that can never be tolerated and must always be fought against.

     IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this seventeenth day of June, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-two, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-sixth. 

JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.