Celebrate Juneteenth at The Betsy Hotel

In South Beach, it’ll be a big night The Betsy Hotel, 1440 Ocean Drive. On June 19, from 6 to 11 p.m., there will be live jazz in the lobby by pianist Allen Paul and singers Carole Ann Taylor, Brenda Alford, Nicole Yarling, and Leesa Richards.

Outside, from 9 to 9:30 p.m. at the Poetry Rail in the adjacent alley, poets Rebecca “Butterfly” Vaughns and Geoffrey Philp are scheduled to appear, along with jazz saxophonist and peace activist Gregory LeDon, who will accompany them with improvisations. Both events are free.

#Juneteenth

Deborah Plutzik Briggs, EdD

VP Arts and Community, The Betsy Hotel

Director - The Betsy Community Fund @ The Miami Foundation

Director - PG Family Foundation

Annual Sunrise Ancestral Remembrance of the Middle Passage

WHAT: Annual Sunrise Ancestral Remembrance of the Middle Passage, honoring the millions who perished aboard slave ships and those who survived to give life to future generations, free and open to the public; drums and musical instruments welcome, offerings of fruits, flowers, grains, and other appropriate items also welcome, to be carried out to sea.

WHEN: Sunday, June 19, 2016, 5:30 - 8:00 a.m. (similar to the Easter Sunrise Service tradition); Please arrive early to avoid lane closured for a cycling event that morning.  The date coincides with Fathers Day and with "Juneteenth" (commemorating the true end of legal slavery in the U.S. on June 19, 1865, when the last of the enslaved population, in East Texas, received word of Emancipation and the end of the Civil War).

WHERE: Historic Virginia Key Beach Park (Miami's restored onetime "Colored Beach" of the segregation era), 4020 Virginia Beach Drive, off Rickenbacker Causeway (toll road), on Virginia Key.  Turn left at second traffic signal, just before the Bear Cut bridge to Key Biscayne.

WHO: Open to all, though the main focus is on Native American and African American heritage.  Associated with no specific religion or ideology.  All traditions are welcome to participate positively in the tribute. (For further information, call 786-260-1246 or 305-904-7620).

NOTE: The celebration of Fathers Day and Juneteenth continues at the Park from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. with the free AIR (Artist in Residence) Summer Breeze festival of music, food, and family fun.  (For information, call 305-960-4618.)

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Happy Juneteenth!

Image by Cedric Cannon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia
Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, is a holiday in the United States honoring African American heritage by commemorating the announcement of the abolition of slavery in the U.S. State of Texas in 1865. Celebrated on June 19, the term is a portmanteau of June and nineteenth, and is recognized as a state holiday or state holiday observance in 41 states of the United States.
"Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds" 
~Bob Marley's adaptation of a speech by Marcus Garvey.

Celebrating Juneteenth 2013

We've freed our bodies, now it's time to free our minds. 
'"We are going to emancipate ourselves from mental slavery because whilst others might free the body, none but ourselves can free the mind."  ~Marcus Garvey.
Juneteenth Facts
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The Coalition for the Exoneration of Marcus Garvey is petitioning Senator Bill Nelson, Representative Frederica Wilson, and the Congress of the United States of America for the exoneration of Marcus Garvey:

http://www.causes.com/actions/1722148-urge-congress-to-exonerate-civil-rights-leader-marcus-garvey 
We are also petitioning President Barack Obama to exonerate Marcus Garvey:

http://signon.org/sign/exonerate-marcus-garvey?source=c.url&r_by=4631897

Thank you for your support..

Happy Juneteenth (2011)

Set the Captives Free...

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