Today on Sojourner Truth:
We are on the road in Washington, D.C., covering the Poor People's Campaign Moral Congress. The Congress began on Monday, June 17 and it ends today, Wednesday, June 19. Thus far, there have been over 1,200 people participating in the Congress from 41 states across the country. The Poor People's Campaign calls out the evils that they see of racism, poverty, the war economy and environmental devastation. Its joint coordinators are Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II and Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis.
Today, we also celebrate Juneteenth. It is June 19 and we mark Juneteenth Independence Day, also known as Freedom Day. Juneteenth commemorates the announcement of the abolition of slavery, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. On June 19, 1865, the abolition of slavery was announced in the State of Texas. Juneteenth is recognized as a state holiday or a special day of observance in 45 states. This day has been remembered as Juneteenth in Black communities across the United States.
It is very fitting that for this Juneteenth, we hear from Rev. Dr. William J. Barber who fired up the crowd with quite a speech on Tuesday, June 18. The reason Rev. Dr. Barber's speech is appropriate is because he puts forth a coalition and politics he refers to as "fusion" movement. It harks back to the post-Emancipation Era (the first Reconstruction Era), where there was a party called the Fusion Party.
We were on the ground and recorded Rev. Dr. Barber's speech.
