All posts tagged: Juneteenth

Juneteenth 2023

Juneteenth 2023

Frequently one step ahead of broader cultural movement, conceptual street artist John Fekner concisely gets right to the point with this text piece on a brick wall called “Juneteenth”. It’s a relatively new sanctioned national celebration that only took about 130 years to be recognized.

John Fekner. Juneteenth. Welling Court Mural Project NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Marking the day in 1865 when Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced General Order No. 3, which proclaimed the freedom of enslaved people in Texas, the illustrative point of this story is that the announcement came two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.

Today we call it Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, commemorating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans and acknowledging the end of slavery in the United States. Juneteenth serves as a reminder of the struggle for freedom, the resilience of African Americans, the legacy of slavery, of how far we need to go for equality, and how important it is to honor the achievements and contributions of African Americans and foster unity and cultural understanding.

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BSA Images Of The Week: 06.21.20

BSA Images Of The Week: 06.21.20

Welcome to BSA Images of the Week and welcome to summer in NYC here on its 2nd day. Also Happy Father’s Day in the US.

Juneteenth. White Fragility. Defund the Police. How to Be an Antiracist. All of these new terms and phrases erupting on the main stage of the public lexicon today speak to a fundamental disgust with the system that’s been in effect. As uncomfortable as it may be, our better selves know that the conversations and changes that have started are vitally necessary to have if we ever want to move forward as a society.

Right now in New York people are marching, protesting, drinking on the street, setting off fireworks, and holding doors open for one another with a new sensitivity thanks to internal bruising. We also see people disregarding safety precautions in the spread of Covid-19, and honking their car horns more often.

All of this is against a backdrop of Americans being unceremoniously slid into poverty and unheard of unemployment, with nary a mention in the national media and near silence from both national parties. It’s good to know that the LGBTQ can’t get fired for being LGBTQ, and children of undocumented immigrants born here will be protected under DACA. Unfortunately there are no jobs!

But on the streets, the messages and the energy and the defiance and determination and the comedy are all there, running on the hot pavement.

Here’s our weekly interview with the streets, this week featuring Almost Over Keep Smiling, Cash4, Chris Tuorto, C0rn Queen, Crisp, KAWS, Menacersa, Nico, Skewville, Smells, and Tag Street Art.

Chris Tuorto #blacklivesmatter (photo © Jaime Rojo)
#blacklivesmatter (photo © Jaime Rojo)
#blacklivesmatter (photo © Jaime Rojo)
#blacklivesmatter (photo © Jaime Rojo)
#juneteenth (photo © Jaime Rojo)
#TAG in Tel-Aviv. #blacklivesmatter (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mena-Ceresa. #blacklivesmatter (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Almost Over Keep Smiling (photo © Jaime Rojo)
CASH SMELLS (photo © Jaime Rojo)
C0rn Queen (photo © Jaime Rojo)
NICO (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Unidentified artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Crisp / Skewville (photo © Jaime Rojo)
KAWS (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Untitled. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. June 2020. (photo © Jaime Rojo)


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