Global Courant
Vice President Kamala Harris greeted Juneteenth revelers in Los Angeles on Monday by celebrating how far the nation has come in its treatment of black Americans, but warned that the fight for freedom is not over.
“Today Americans of all walks of life come together to celebrate Juneteenth, to honor black excellence, culture and community, to commemorate the entire history of our country and to celebrate one of our founding principles – the principle of liberty” , Harris said to the thousands of people. collected in the Greek theater.
“America is a promise,” said the vice president, “a promise of freedom, liberty and justice. The story of Juneteenth as we celebrate it is the story of our ongoing struggle to realize that the American promise is not for some but for all.
Juneteenth, which recognizes the emancipation of enslaved people, is the country’s newest federal holiday.
Harris noted that she co-sponsored legislation to recognize the holiday while in the U.S. Senate and then sided with President Biden as vice president when he signed the bill into law.
But she remembered Coretta Scott King’s warning that every generation should keep its freedom.
“So let’s all stand together as Americans to teach and honor history, to protect our freedom and continue our fight for freedom,” she said, before introducing a step-dance performance from the Divine Nine , a group of historically black fraternities and sororities. . Harris joined Alpha Kappa Alpha when she attended Howard University for her undergraduate degree.
Other performers on the show included hip-hop star Nelly; R&B band SWV; gospel artist Kirk Franklin; and singer Chloe Bailey, who paid tribute to the late Tina Turner. The celebration was produced by a team of black creators from Live Nation Urban and Jesse Collins Entertainment and broadcast internationally by CNN.
“We get a chance to celebrate each other,” said Adam Blackstone, the event’s musical director, who has counseled artists such as Janet Jackson, Nicki Minaj and Justin Timberlake. “We tried to do that specifically as a culture. And so I wanted to make a playlist, a live playlist, that gets the party going and almost feels like a backyard barbecue.
Johnita P. Due, the cable station’s executive vice president of integrity and inclusion, said the concert was about more than music.
“During the show, you just feel so many people around you. You feel your ancestors with you, you feel the relatives you have lost. You feel your whole community,” she said. “That’s why it’s so impressive.”
Due got emotional when she spoke about her late mother, Patricia Stephens Due, who led the country’s first prison protest during the civil rights movement – with protesters opting for jail time over bail.
“My mom used to say, ‘Stories live forever. Storytellers don’t, so listen to the storytellers while you can,” Due said. “What you see on stage today is a bunch of storytellers telling their truth and celebrating freedom of speech and expression and the freedom to tell our stories.”
