Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, the date that word of the Emancipation Proclamation reached previously enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, following the end of the Civil War.

On June 19, 1865, Union soldiers led by Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger landed at Galveston, Texas, with the news that the Civil War was over and that enslaved people were free in the defeated Confederacy. Today, Juneteenth – an annual holiday on June 19 – commemorates African American freedom, highlighting education and achievement.

The Chippewa Valley is hosting a virtual Juneteenth celebration on Friday, June 19, beginning at 9am on Zoom and concluding with a community conversation on race from 5:30-8pm, in the hopes of facilitating further such discussions.

“People need to show up and vote. We need our white allies to show up.” –David Carlson, ACLU regional organizer

Dr. Selika Ducksworth-Lawton, the president of Uniting Bridges and a history professor at UW-Eau Claire, organized the event and is the one “bringing this to life,” according to David Carlson, Eau Claire County regional organizer for the ACLU’s Rights for All Campaign.

The schedule of events for the day is as follows:

• 9am-12pm: A panel on the history of Juneteenth, with a tentative media panel on how the press covers race and protest.
• 1:30-3pm: Training on how to have a race discussion, nonviolent protest, and unconscious bias.
• 3-4:30pm: Libby Richter, social worker at the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library, will host a de-escalation training sponsored by the library.
• 5:30-6pm: Musical guests Irie Sol, Naalia, and CollECtive Choir will perform.
• 6:30-8pm: A community conversation on race, education, policing, and everyday life supported by Converge Radio.

Richter is excited about presenting the de-escalation training. “I’m just excited to give people another tool to use to create change,” she said.

She hopes to make it an accessible panel, with participants willing to ask lots of questions and engage in learning. She said effective communication on a multitude of platforms – such as Facebook – requires de-escalation skills. No one can learn or communicate effectively when in an escalated state, Richter said.

“We all encounter it every day,” Richter said. “I just see so many practical uses to many of these skills.”

Carlson is also among those slated to speak at Friday’s event. He hopes to open conversations about common misconceptions regarding race, including a discussion on the image of black masculinity and the transparency of law enforcement. In particular, Carlson wants to highlight the importance of voting.

“People need to show up and vote,” he said. “We need our white allies to show up.”

Juneteenth is hosted by Uniting Bridges, Converge Radio, UWEC Office of the Chancellor, Office of Multicultural Affairs, Office of Affirmative Action, UWEC History Department, The Visit Eau Claire Foundation, the Chippewa Valley ACLU, the City of Eau Claire, and the City of Altoona, among various other co-sponsors.

Dang Yang, the director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs at UWEC, said the office is working as a support to add to the conversation. Any awkward silences during the online event will be filled with thoughtful comments from members of the Office of Multicultural Affairs, Yang said. In addition, Yang has been working with Ducksworth-Lawton to ensure the event is as accessible as possible.

More information is available at the Juneteenth event page on Facebook or by contacting Ducksworth-Lawton at (715) 836-4886 or duckswsm@uwec.edu. Tickets are free and are available on the Facebook page.