Juneteenth With LaNesha DeBardelaben of The Northwest African American Museum

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Welcome to the public Affair show ofyour favorite iHeartRadio station right here in Seattle.
I'm Lee Callahan, and I lovehaving this woman on to talk about
what is going on in our community. She is the executive director of the
Northwest African American Museum. Lansha deBard Laban. Hey, good morning,

(00:20):
Lansha, Good morning, Way.It's great to be here. It's great
to have you on. So comingup tomorrow, Juneteenth becoming national Well it's
been a national holiday, but becomingmore and more and more of a holiday
as more and more people get totake time off to think about Juneteenth.
I hesitate to say celebrate Juneteenth.So maybe you can turn me around on

(00:43):
that a little bit. But let'stalk about what Juneteenth is historically, what
happened on that day. Well,I do define Juneteenth as a commemoration and
a call to actions, not somuch a celebration. Now, Juneteenth first
was a historical event, and ithappened on June nineteen, eighteen sixty five,

(01:03):
when the enslaved people of Galveston,Texas learned of the news of the
Emancipation Proclamation, which had freed theenslaved people in the Confederate States. But
they learned of this news and ofthis freedom two and a half years too
late. The Emancipation Proclamation was issuedJanuary one, eighteen sixty three, and

(01:26):
so when the Union General came andannounced liberation to the people of Galveston,
Texas, the news came far toolate, and they were enslaved beyond beyond
what they with the law. Yeah, yeah, I had issued them.

(01:51):
And so June teenths from the followingyear eighteen sixty six to the very present,
June Tea has been an important dayof commemoration, of reflection, of
remembrance, and of renewal to ourcommitment to equity, justice, freedom,

(02:15):
opportunity for all. And so herewe are, nearly one hundred and sixty
years later, we are spending Juneteenthtogether as a community to remember, to
reflect, and to renew. Andthat's what our museum will host on Juneteenth

(02:36):
Day of Remembrance and reflection. Willhave a variety of activities for the entire
family. We do bring joy intothe commemoration because Black joy is so important,
and it will be a day fullof activities for the entire community.

(02:58):
So we invite individual to come toJudkins Park where our Juneteenth event will be
happening. The museum will also beopen and free that day. Oh,
that's great. How close to JudkinsPark is the museum. It is right
behind the museum, that's right acrosstwenty third. Oh that's great. So

(03:19):
people can come up from the activitiesand go up into the museum for free
that day, all in one.Absolutely, that's so great. Everybody on
the phone with me is Lenisia debar To Laven. She's the executive director
of the Northwest African American Museum.Teenth is tomorrow, June nineteenth. And
not to labor the point, butthe rest of the nation had been told

(03:44):
as soon as the Emancipation Proclamation wasout that slaves were freed. Correct,
what was it that was Was itslave owners that were keeping it a secret
or was it that the union officerdidn't I just don't get how this communication
did not happen and why it wasup to the union officer. Yeah,

(04:04):
it's a complicated story. You know, Galveston, Texas was located in a
remote from area of a remote stateof Texas, and so it's complicated in
terms of why the news did notget to the enslaved people there. Of
course, was the resistance of thethe plantation owners who withhold information that kind

(04:33):
of critical liberation news to the people, and so lots of differing possibilities.
Yeah, there really is. It'sheartbreaking. Let's talk about commemoration and celebration
of black joy. Yes, okay, let's talk about today at the museum.

(04:57):
Is it online or is it atthe museum Film Festival? Yeah,
So today we are hosting a filmfestival at the museum all day. We
invite individuals to come and learn ofthis story. So today is the educational
aspect of our June Team commemoration.We are hosting five films or a part
of an all day film festival.And these films are powerful educational pieces that

(05:24):
tell the story of black liberation,so tell the story of Juneteenth. They
are produced by black filmmakers, andso they come. They're produced from the
perspective of the African American experience,and we invite individuals to come to the
museum and partake in the film fest. We're calling it the Freedom Film Festival

(05:47):
because these these films are really focusedon the pursuit of freedom from Juneteenth to
the very present, and it takesplace at the museum and it goes until
five o'clock on today. That's sogreat. Can you talk about one film
in particular. Yes. Abad Renaeis a popular filmmaker. She's known just

(06:13):
for being an award winning film producer. We're going to be showcasing her documentary
Caught Thirteenth, about the Thirteenth Amendmentand the continued oppression of people of color
even after slavery ended. There wasthis change in the system that oppressed people

(06:35):
of color far beyond the ending offlavery. And so she tells that story
powerfully in that film. Will alsoshow portion of Nicole Hannah Jones's new series
called The sixteen nineteen Project. That'sone of the other films that will be
shown. Stanley Nelson is a popularAfrican American filmmaker. He's produced so many

(06:59):
wonderful films, and we'll be showinghis film called Divisions of Freedom and it's
about Harriet Tupman and the story ofits late people. So cool. Would
you go back to the sixteen nineteenProject? I saw some stuff on TV.
Would you tell us more about that? Yes? Absolutely. Nicolehannah Jones
is an award winning journalist who startedShe started a series on the sixteen nineteen

(07:24):
project as a part of her NewYork Times series, and it became a
book and now it is a televisionseries, and we will be showcasing one
of the segments, one of theepisodes, and this one is about race,
the constructive race in America and whatthat has meant for human relations here

(07:47):
in this country. It's a powerfulsixty one minute production that people won't want
to miss. It's eye opening,the mind changing, and it refers to
the year sixteen nineteen when the firstAfricans were taken absolutely, when the first

(08:13):
people of color of African well peopleof African descent, arrived to Jamestown,
Virginia. That's so sad. Well, that will be very eye opening.
Let's talk about what's going on tomorrowat the museum at Judkins Park. Let's
talk about that. Yes, thecelebration kicks off at ten am and it

(08:35):
goes throughout the day into the evening. We have a variety of activities.
There will be yoga in the parkfel folks can bring their yoga mats and
enjoy yoga sessions with our African Americanyoga instructors. We will have dance workshops

(08:56):
where individuals can engage and they lessonsand dance sessions. We will have an
all day DJ will have our secondannual skate party, so folks can bring
their roller skates or grab some freeroller skates there at Jusins Park and just

(09:16):
skate the day away, have funon the roller rank there at Juckins Park.
It's all about uplifting joy, oflifting a community unity and uplifting our
commitment to equity. There will bea variety of black vendors, product vendors,
information vendors, will have food trucks. There will be a live band.

(09:41):
There will be all kinds of educational, inspirational, informational activities for the
family, tons of fun and somethingthat people don't want to miss. Juneteenth
is the day for us to cometogether and we're inviting folks to come to
Jefkins Park can commem rate Juneteenth.Plous great, what a great fun day.

(10:05):
Judkins Park right next to the NorthwestAfrican American Museum. The museum is
opened that day from eleven to threeand it's free. It is free.
We invite books to come and seethe exhibition. The artwork. We showcase
a variety of black artists and Juneteenthis a great day to enjoy that.
For all the information on this theschedule, all the good stuff, just

(10:26):
go to in aa m NW dotorg Northwest African American Museum's website inaam NW
dot org. Lensia de bar deLaban, as usual, thank you for
my consciousness raising and for putting onsuch a great day tomorrow. Much appreciated.

(10:48):
Thank you, Lee. We lookforward to seeing you there all right.