June is a time of joyful celebrations. We celebrate the beginning of Summer and the ending of a school year. We rise in joy to celebrate promotions and graduations. We come together as families to celebrate the father figures in our lives. This year in the United States we celebrate the opening of our country to people from around the world in cheering on the teams participating in the World Cup, many people finding a connection to their community in this shared sporting event.
Annually on June 19th in the United States, we celebrate Juneteenth. This is a historical and federal holiday commemorating the final emancipation of enslaved African Americans when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation in 1865. Communities often celebrate through festivals, cultural events and family/friend cookouts. This Juneteenth is an opportunity to continue to uplift the progress that has been made, and also the work that still needs to be done to expand access, opportunity and belonging with our Black communities.
Across the globe, we celebrate PRIDE, a month-long celebration honoring our LGBTQIA+ community members and their rich contributions to our culture, technology, business, neighborhoods, and our world. As with Juneteenth, PRIDE is rooted in our history, with the Stonewall Riots on June 28, 1969 followed by other liberation protests and forums around the world. In 1991 the Serbian group Arkadijia celebrated with a forum and art show on queer activism at the Belgrade Youth Center, and the Serbian government authorized actions in 2013 and 2015 to create Hate-Free Zones. Throughout the month many cities host large festivals and parades. The oldest and largest parade is the New York City Pride Parade on the last Sunday of the month, which started in June 1970 and was promoted as Christopher Street Liberation Day.
Also globally, June honors the contributions and heritages of immigrants as Immigrant Heritage Month. In every part of the world, immigrants enrich and transform our economies, accelerate innovation and science, and provide needed labor, filling critical gaps in local industries. The most beautiful part of celebrating with people from around the world who have become interwoven into every community is the learning of new ideas, languages, art and food. For a Jersey Girl like myself, I find immense joy in the food brought by immigrants to the US, enjoying bagels and lox and the flavors of Italy and Mexico.
This year we are called to remember that progress and equality are not passively provided, that as people in a community we need to provide space for those willingly showing up as themselves and to advocate for all humans to have the “unalienable rights, .. of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Each and everyone of us are connected through multiple communities, each one important to the fabric of our lives. The woven tapestry of our interconnectedness, whether as fathers, graduates, family members or Knicks/ World Cup fans, enriches our lives with the joy found in June.