A Basic How-To for a Memorable JUNETEENTH Celebration

JUNETEENTH is a celebration of acknowledgement and hope! It is finally here!

Since Juneteenth became a federal holiday in the USA last year (at long last!), information on Juneteenth has been made readily available. I leave it up to you to learn more about the date itself (we all need to become lifelong learners, my friends…).

My brief piece is not about the importance of the date per say, but on the mechanics of how to make yours a successful and memorable, gathering.

In coaching two organization on how Juneteenth can be celebrated, I mentioned three main goals: participation, information, and fun.  

1.     PARTICIPATION  is a way to secure engagement (remember who this is for). The more your audience participates, the more engaged they will be. Make it about your audience.

2.     INFORMATION: emphasize what makes the date unique and meaningful, and why the celebration is highly necessary. Why necessary? Because African Americans are part and parcel of our American history. For a more equitable society to develop, we need to an “us” mentality, with “all” of us included. Now is the time! Now is high time we work on this.

3.     FUN: it is a celebration! Those who know my work know that for me, diversity should be celebrated and enjoyed! I hope at some point you can attend one of my “As American As Apple Pie, Sushi, and Tacos” presentations to see what I mean.

What can you do to make your Juneteenth celebration fun? What unusual facts about Juneteenth can you find (trivia, objects perhaps)? Is there an identifying color? Food? Drinks? Music? Traditions? How can you make it as personal as wearing green on Saint Patrick’s Day?

Obviously, having a whole or a half day off for Juneteenth can be costly. It may offer food, drinks, and music. However, these party goodies are not crucial to make the event memorable. Your celebration can be virtual, maybe an hour long. Make it so special participants look forward to it next year. Build on it for the following year. Can your teams find ways to celebrate it? Ask them! The more involved they get, the more the spirit of celebration (and information) will spread.

My hard-core adult education training sealed in me the importance of instructor/participant talking-time ratio. I will gladly share it with you: in gatherings of this nature, participants' talking time needs to be markedly longer than yours (you being the organizer, of course).

We are all struggling with the pandemic and the awful daily news. That is precisely why we need to create joy, to build community, to acknowledge the value of individuals who have carried a much heavier weight and pain in our nation-building. It is time to honor them, to acknowledge their contributions, and of course, to make changes for a more equitable and livable society for ALL.

We know the best is yet to come. For now, though, let’s gather and have some meaningful and memorable time of celebration, my friends! 

#Juneteenth#African=American#Diversity#Minorities