|
NJPAC
The Chase Room
Mon,
Jun 19 @ 6PM
While Juneteenth is a celebration of the emancipation of all enslaved
people, it is also a time to consider the brutal history of slavery and its
legacy. Unpaid labor underpinned the economic prosperity of New Jersey in
the 18th and 19th centuries and its location along the coast facilitated
the slave trade. The people who built the state, and their descendants,
never received compensation and today’s Black community in New Jersey
continues to experience harms such as high rates of infant mortality,
incarceration and one of the highest racial wealth gaps in the country.
This month’s PSEG True
Diversity Film Series selection,The Forgotten Story of New Jersey’s Enslaved People,
preserves the legacy of slavery in New Jersey and how it prevented Black
property ownership and access to other resources. It raises important
questions such as what types of government policies can repair generations
of inequality? And how should slavery and its impact be taught in schools?
This month’s Standing in
Solidarity panel is curated by the New Jersey Institute for Social
Justice and is part of NJPAC’s Juneteenth celebrations.
How to
participate:
- Register here.
- Watch the two-part series The Forgotten Story of New
Jersey’s Enslaved People at home: Part 1. Part 2.
- Join us for an in-person discussion at NJPAC on
Monday, June 19, at 6PM. This event will not be hosted through Zoom.
Preceding
the conversation, NJPAC’s African
American Employee Resource Group is hosting a Juneteenth
celebration in Harriet Tubman Square featuring drumming, dance, poetry and
jazz from 5 – 6PM. RSVP for this event here.
A spirited parade will lead celebrants to NJPAC for the Standing in Solidarity
conversation. A Juneteenth Marketplace — with live music and other
surprises — will follow in the Prudential Hall lobby from 7:30 – 10PM.
Our panel will be moderated by Jean-Pierre
Brutus, Senior Counsel in the Economic Justice Program at
the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice.
Our
panelists include:
Elaine Buck
and Beverly Mills,
Authors, If These Stones
Could Talk
Linda Caldwell Epps,
President and CEO, 1804 Consultants
Damon Jones,
Associate Professor, University of Chicago
Tomas Varela Jr.,
Executive Director, New Jersey Black Empowerment Coalition
|
