 Good evening folks is Reverend Mark Hughes from the Vermont racial justice alliance on your favorite show This is juxtaposition This is issues about black folks that black folks are dealing with so just wanted to welcome you to the Juneteenth edition we're gonna call this one the Juneteenth edition because we've got some great Conversation about what's coming up on Juneteenth Man, I've got some background information I've got some some details about what's been happening across Vermont on Juneteenth and other related activities You know what give you some updates on you know just some a lot of the advocacy work that has been done Definitely across the years. We know things have been amping up on Juneteenth and things peak folks are really focusing on what that's all about Yeah, folks are increasingly getting involved But yeah, we want to try to get some background have some conversation talk about some of the things that have happened that are Happening that we are doing in I am really pleased that I'm joined today with a couple of guests So I do have with us here to my right. Mr. Vincent Mitchell He is the program director as well as youth services at the Richard Kim Center welcome Mark, thanks for having me. Hey, no problem. I'm glad you're here. And also we have Deacon Roy V. Hill He is on the board of directors at a Vermont Racial Justice Alliance happy that you were able to join us today as well Sir, we may even also have some Some highlights of you historical highlights of you as it pertains to the subject matter So it's good to see you as well today the Vermont Racial Justice Alliance announced that the Richard Kemp Center plans Juneteenth weekend. This is on press release in case you haven't seen it already There will be an equal protection of the law outreach and education session tomorrow at the Richard Kim Center from 6 p.m. Till 8 p.m. As a part of this this reconstruction 14th amendment to the United States Constitution We want to talk about the opposition the appropriation and weaponization of it So this is a question a conversation. How do we respond to the attacks on the 14th amendment and Understanding the fact that if we don't do something that it will impact our children's children and moving forward Also in this press release was announced the upcoming meet and greet We do have the illustrious and industrious doctor tammy graze still a fourth generation black farmer and ceo of the national women in agriculture association the largest nonprofit women in Agriculture organization in the world. She said I have no doubt that the Vermont chapter of the national women in Agriculture association will hit the ground running That was released again in a press release today. We'll come back more on this press release later But brothers welcome to the show So happy i'm so happy to have some company a lot of times they leave me out here lonely It's just hard for a brother to figure it out out here. But Juneteenth Juneteenth Juneteenth. That's what's coming up I know that there's a lot of stuff That's planned and I just wanted to get some reflection from you first and foremost On just Juneteenth Juneteenth the holiday Juneteenth the holy day Juneteenth The commemoration Juneteenth the celebration What is Juneteenth uh to you and and how are you processing it mr. Hill? What is it to me on one sense? We all refer to it as liberation That is liberation from enslavement That is when The last festival of slaves were still being enslaved in texas in defiance of president And we got a mic check we're gonna We'll come back. We'll come back to you. But um, oh, yeah, we're good. We're good. We got mic We got some we got some tech. We got some tech right in the house. Go ahead Absolutely. Thank you in defiance of Abraham Lincoln president Abraham Lincoln's quote emancipation proclamation Thus two and a half years after that us General Granger went into texas and informed the public That is those who were still enslaved. Yeah, that indeed they had been liberated right, right So, um, Vincent What what what comes across your mind when you think Rep uh when you I was going to say reparation when you think of um, the the whole idea of juneteenth and how are you processing that Well for me, it's it's it's one of those things where you know our ancestors and and forefathers paved the way And you know while we all know that you know, they say slavery ended slavery still exists in today's in today's world And cruel is all said and you know housing Education the you know criminal justice system I can go on and on But for me, it's it's really really raising up our people and and bringing in our people together And I think that's what's really most important That we that we come together And recognize our true power because you know minute by minute hour by hour the more we know our story The more we know our power the more we know our story The more we know our power definitely and it makes you think um, and we're gonna From the control room you can bring that slide up that first slide But as we're talking about just some of this uh, what was going on You know, I'm just you know, we always want to remind folks who are watching, you know That systemic racism is the legacy of slavery So that the insidious nature that of of what we're talking about is is there That's that's that's in that definition folks taken a moment to just re familiarize themselves with that But as as slavery allegedly Ended thank you for that slide as slavery allegedly ended You know some of the things that you know, we know that were happening as we think of reconstruction as we think of that time in history Uh was is you know folks begin to look for their families? I think that was one of the big things and what i'm doing is is trying to pull things together We know or maybe some of us don't know Um, you know for those who are watching it's very important to understand that the proclamation the the proclamation of emancipation um Though it occurred in at the beginning of um I think it was 63 1863 and they were notified in uh, maybe around june of 65 in galveston That the proclamation of the emancipation proclamation only freed uh slaves that were the folks who were enslaved in um in Confederate states in slave holding states and it was political obviously, you know, it's always it's always political You know because that there we we've got to you know us as black folks I think it's under important for us to understand that look ain't nobody giving us nothing Absolutely right so everything everything that has happened up until now even to this day There has been a fight for there has been a stand for and there has been blood sweat and tears that have been shed for so I just don't want to over glamorize This whole idea of juneteenth because even in galveston texas on that june day There was yet still folks who were enslaved in states Like say for example, kentucky and so forth and these were in delaware, which were which were You know border states, but and but they were they were not they they were not emancipated by that proclamation So I think that's one thing uh to understand Um, so i'm wondering you know when you think about just this march this onward march and understanding that You know, it all it ain't all what it seems to be all of the time And i'm not trying to leave as they say leave the witness, but i'm just you know I'm just saying you know really what is juneteenth to us visit Well juneteenth to us that's that's to us I'm talking about us exactly nothing about us Without us absolutely Well while everyone is you know getting ramped up and and the city is getting ready to put something on Juneteenth and you know i'm well aware. We're all well aware We also are are having our own juneteenth honoring you know our our own black leaders in our communities And and really raising them up as the gentleman to my right roy hill He's he's actually done a lot for this community for the state and actually brought juneteenth To existent and made a joint resolution for the state to be in recognition So in addition to all of that slide control room in addition to all of that I just want to really really raise up You probably because yeah, let's let's do more than that proclamation for a quick second before I Yeah, that's that is the proclamation and that proclamation was was done in uh 2009 I just so happened to stumble across it and I I wanted to bring that out that it was um definitely under um governor douglas's um His his little uh fiefdom that this came to pass And I I remember I see here that even in one of the wear ass clauses. I see surely boyd hill as well as um Yourself, uh, roy v hill deacon hill Tell us a little bit about this one this what happened during that time Maybe just take a couple minutes and share with us What was going on during this time this proclamation? Thank you for the question because At minimum what you just said is Juneteenth is about education And liberation Education and liberation both in terms of our community that is african-americans And the community at large Because the indoctrination which has occurred in our school system and continues to occur in our school system Leaves out Who we are and what we are as foundation to this country even though the shackles Kept us restricted At the same time we were the foundation. We fed the families. We were abused That is our women were turned into wet nurses or So on and so forth in the houses here in working here vermont in working with in dialogue and with People in communities in general and in the legislature in particular house center governor ducklers We were able to advance reality that is educate the reality of juneteenth and who we are as a people And well as well speak and in doing so back to education move through expose and move through the Fossification that which we have forged Forced fed in our schools and on up. Yeah, example even today. This may be far-fetched But it's still a reality if we hear and I heard through School system one nation on the guard with liberty and justice for all liberty and justice for all Well, if we're talking liberty and justice for all, why is it that our children don't know about juneteenth? That part of history and other parts of our history where African-american women and african-american men and african-american children Were the bread and butter of the foundations Both In the south and at the same time that reality that education has been sort of purged from the northern part Yeah, looking at main and looking at massachusetts and looking at road island in terms of people who were enslaved and at the same time denied that practice Whereas Denial allowed them to again export and take advantage of so here. We are working with our legislature in a state That up until last year still had a cause in its constitution that allowed for Enslavement so that's kind of part of the the whole point of Juneteenth that keeps resonating with me Is is that I think everything is premised upon something That black folks didn't know I heard somebody joke one time and said the reason why they didn't um That it it was important that the folk in galveston didn't know about juneteenth is because as soon as they found out That white folk would figure out how to make money off of it so That's that's kind of like part of the challenge that that that I see is is that there's a lot of black folks who just don't know And um and just as sure as folks have began to acknowledge juneteenth it has You know began to become commercial commercialized as well because it becomes it becomes political becomes economic You know whether somebody can stick a feather in their political hat for it or whether They can draw folks into the marketplace to gain profit from it. So there's always that as well I want to just take you through a couple things that have happened since then I I did put together a couple of Of slides and if you can go to the slides that are up We did have first african landing day proclaimed in 2019 And and that was really about the 16 19 project and we continue to do that and we see that That is the um the fourth saturday of every august There's a juneteenth recognition day uh that also uh came up uh in 2020 and we also came across um A reparations task force here. This is just a snapshot of the um of the beginning of that resolution The reparations task force here in the city of burlington. So yes indeed there is a reparations task force in the city of burlington This was as a result just as the um the first african landing day was it was as a result of the work of the racial justice alliance You can you can also um, you know go in and take a look at uh, and I think there's another slide after that Is is the public health emergency which happened uh in 2021 And that was a resolution a joint resolution Behind and i'm going somewhere with this because i want to try to fill in the blanks because we need to scurry on Because we're going to be um taking this to a wrap pretty quick But the public health emergency It the resolution and it really is about the commitment the legislative commitment To a sustained and deep work of eradicating systemic racism And then uh that same year there was another juneteenth recognition day another juneteenth recognition day that was signed in To law by phil scott. So what we see here is is we've got thank you for those slides We got a lot of stuff. We got a lot of activities Uh that are happening and the question is is whether or not we're actually seeing progress Whether we're seeing progress. Um, so I don't know uh venson one of the things that um We've seen is as we've seen a lot of work. Um, you know this policy work Um, how is this coming together in our communities and what kind of support are you seeing in that respect? Well, one of the things that you know, we've done As a community and and this is something that doesn't you know happen overnight It actually takes about four years And one of the things that we did do was we amended the state the state constitution Where you know, uh, the city still had language that permitted slavery So what we did was we were going we were able to go in and change that language So that uh slavery could could stop. Um, they could stop the convict leasing that was permitting that was happening in ramon So there's a slide on that from the control room. Yeah, these are one of these are some of the things and if you guys just take a look On on on this slide right here of what we felt was most important that we needed to address Because like I mentioned before this this doesn't happen overnight It goes through the house and then it goes takes about four years So we were able to at least jump in front of that and begin the process of really really You know highlighting and and and and making sure that that language doesn't continue to exist Yeah, that's and that it's the the whole thank you for that and I think the the whole abolished slavery That that was another thing that you know Folks kind of looked at us kind of cross-eyed because I think there's There's you know, again, there's so much education Uh that is required of us that that we come to knowledge of actually what is going on around us You know, and we you go back to galvinston, texas. It's a lot of folks um You know, they celebrated they were celebrating the fact that slavery was abolished but didn't understand that slavery still existed in the united states Not just because of the exception clause that was in the 13th amendment Um, but also because of the fact that the That particular um proclamation that emancipation proclamation again did not even apply to the entire country so so lots of lots of uh things but You know to learn but but I think there there is some positivity Um, you know, I think chronologically first, you know, it's important to understand that. Yes The emancipation proclamation did happen in it in 63 in january 63 um the um the senate passed the 13th amendment in in april of 1964 And it was ultimately passed by the full congress in january of of 1865 so So there there was a progression now What we haven't talked about is is the fact that Lincoln was assassinated in um Right after congress passed months after congress passed the 13th amendment We remember john wilk's boost jumping from the balcony saying the south would be avenged So we're talking about some pushback So with every drum that's beat in history with every march this march with every bit of progress that's made Enlargedly by black folks in america to advance this conversation to establish one nation under god Where we can truly hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created Equal uh that we can truly live in a in a unified republic if we can keep it Every time we push things forward there's always a push backwards And I think sometimes it's very important for us to stay focused Stay focused as we're marching as we're moving forward But also to understand that we can expect a backlash just coming and so what I you know Speaking to you now is it's just understanding, you know your thoughts on the current backlash As we move to a close and um, what are some of your um Well, you know your perspective roi on you know What we're seeing as a backlash and in and how we hold our position As we continue this progress I say right on thank you for that question because it illuminates in so many different ways For example, they're in texas when the folk were quote liberated in texas. They could not celebrate Their liberation there were towns where they were rejected in mississippi in particular. There's a long story there I won't go into it in a moment, but that reality did exist there. We see In this country going back to the history of quote democracy and so forth England in 1597, I believe starts sending its criminal elements to this country Those are the criminal people who came changed their names put themselves in the policy making position And began to oppress across the board and of course african americans and native americans in particular Right to now we see from the police force through the government itself here that continuous push back Here in vermont as an example when Five or four whatever white boys got together in the senate and affirmed a person to the Highest court in vermont that person had Criminal elements a police person who was disbarred in our household, but the Senate the you're talking about judge barrett. Yes judge barrett and here we see that uh white people decided she's okay I mean In spite of what she has embraced and publicly public safety ain't necessarily black safety. Amen Let's let's let's let's let's get let's get let's get a little bit We got a we got a club. We got to wrap it up because we got to get over to st. John's happy Happy birthday cc tv Happy birthday to you. I think it's your 39th birthday. We are headed to the st John's club. We're trying to get up out of here So in a minute we're going to leave there's a couple of other things that we got going on here summer activities at the vermont At the richard kimp center you can enroll ages eight to 18. It's out on richard kimpcenter.org You're seeing a slide right now about work that we're doing on the current initiative due to work that's platforms and initiatives So you can show up at the vermont at the richard kimp center rather on thursdays at 6 p.m We'll be covering some of the these legislative agendas Make sure you show up this thursday. We're talking about the most important Constitution amendment. I think that ever existed which is the 14th amendment the Do the equal protection clause under the 14th amendment? Don't forget about chest club on Tuesdays That's going to be happening You know, I told y'all was going to come back to this Also to this This press release and I just was we'll close out by telling you that the richard kimp center is going to host an open house um at From one o'clock to six o'clock. Is that it? This is flying right here. Look at that. That's flying here We will be having uh, this is one of those celebrations. Like I said before where we're going to be honoring our local Native i got the words right here. So it says the open house will feature young gifted and black exhibition The i.m vermont 2 the local black artists raffles and prizes and more folks will have the opportunity to first Have a first glimpse at the richard kimp center wall of black vermont history And there's also going to be some old school r&b Music and food and beverages for guests christine hughes director of the richard kimp center said in all the excitement and commercialization of juneteenth We don't want to forget where it comes from and who it is about the true history of american descendants of slavery So the vermont racial justice alliance will be tabling at the vermont richard kimp center open house as well Thank you for coming. Thank you for showing up Today this has been amazing. This is This is the special edition juneteenth Thank you for coming out. We're going to as I said, we're headed out right now. We're headed over happy birthday cctv. That's it from here Just a position. Good night