Heather Wilson
AIA Oregon EVP/CEO
Honoring Juneteenth
On Monday, June 19, our AIA Oregon office (and many other AIA offices, including AIA National) will be closed in the observance of Juneteenth, a Federal Holiday created by the Juneteenth national Independence Day Act of 2021. This day commemorates the day that the last slaves were freed in the westernmost territory of the still forming United States of America. From the Juneteenth federal web page, https://www.govinfo.gov/features/juneteenth:
On June 19, 1865, federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas to take control of the state and ensure that all enslaved people be freed. This, however, was two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect on January, 1863. This day, the oldest known celebration commemorating the end of slavery in the United States, has become a day for African Americans to celebrate not only their freedom, but their history, culture and achievements.
On this day, my family and I will remind ourselves of our own portion of that history. I like to take out the photos of Ernestine Amanda and Charles Abraham Moore, my great grandparents, who were a part of the Exoduster movement that followed Juneteenth. They became homesteaders along with other newly freed slaves in the Great Plains. They were able to build a barn (where they lived in the loft), purchase a horse, and try to carve out a life in the harsh conditions. As my family has told it, Ernestine Amanda eventually told Charles to take her back to Paris, Kentucky; where they knew the life would be just as harsh in other ways (as they returned to Jim Crow life); but she admonished that at least she’d be able to wash her clothes without being surrounded by rattlesnakes.
I don’t have too many more stories about them. I try to make connection with what I have left, as I also suppose many of us do to honor Juneteenth. Whatever you do, I hope it is educational, safe, and impactful, as the holiday is also a call to recommit ourselves to the work of equity, equality, and justice our society. Enjoy, and I hope you connect with a story that resonates with you.
