It’s hard to believe that June is already here. I haven’t written much this Spring due to how busy it’s been at the farm. I beat myself up pretty good for not keeping up with our social media and my writing, but I’ve finally given myself a break and returned to “it gets done when it gets done”. Do the best you can each day and go to bed knowing that you did everything that needed to be done today. The farm, and life really, moves at its own pace and we do the best we can do and learn to let go…
Opal’s Farm has had some great volunteer groups this Spring as well as our wonderful regular volunteers. I’m not going to mention you by name simply because I don’t have space to list you all. I want to let you know how appreciated you are. I’m not confused. I know for certain that without you Opal’s Farm wouldn’t be there to provide food and access to healthy food for so many of our neighbors. Please know that every task you help with is another healthy meal served for those that need it most.
I’m always surprised when our corporate volunteers, who often come from some very conservative businesses, talk about the craziness we are all experiencing on a daily basis if one listens to even a small portion of the daily news. The chaos of the last four months has reached each one of us in some way and the thing I hear the most is “What can I do?” Sometimes it’s asked with a genuine desire to find a course of action that really says something to the powers that be but mostly it comes with a deep sense of helplessness, powerlessness, and quiet resignation.
I certainly don’t have the answers. Fortunately, I have the honor and privilege of working with my grandmother (I know she’s everyone’s grandmother, but she told me I’ve been adopted), Dr. Opal Lee; nationally known as “The Grandmother of Juneteenth”. In addition to the farm, and perhaps most importantly, is my annual Juneteenth work and celebration. Juneteenth and Opal’s Farm are about bringing all people, regardless of race, religion, sexual identity, culture, or political beliefs to the table together. As Dr. Opal has told me any times, “It’s not a Texas thing, it’s not a Black thing, it’s a unifier.” There is a way for everyone to show our support for freedom and unity. Celebrate Juneteenth together!
Juneteenth celebrations are more important than ever this year. According to Dr. Charles M Blow, “many cities have cancelled Juneteenth (celebrations)”: mostly out of fear of being considered “DEI” and the current erasure of anything having to do with Black culture and history. ( https://www.cbsnews.com/news/from-celebrating-juneteenth-to-the-erasure-of-black-history-charles-m-blow-on-america-today/ ).
Juneteenth is not a “DEI” initiative. It’s a national holiday that passed with bipartisan support. Even the man currently in the White House (I still can’t say his name aloud or in print) tried to appeal to Black voters in 2020 by making Juneteenth a federal holiday in the last days of his previous administration.
Juneteenth is a day for all of us to remember that freedom is for everyone especially those had had been enslaved. We haven’t cancelled our Juneteenth Celebration here in Fort Worth. We still started our month-long celebration with the Ecumenical Breakfast of Prayer last Friday. The Miss Juneteenth Scholarship Pageant was on Saturday. This coming Saturday will be the stage play, Timmy’s Dance, followed by the “Walk for Freedom” on the 19th, the 1K Women Strong Legacy Awards Breakfast on the 20th,” Empowering You”, a job, health, and education fair on the 21st. The month of activities closes with “Your Voice Unleashed” – a week-long program for our young people including the culinary arts, music, and the choir concert.
We will be walking 2.5 miles (to symbolize the 2.5 years it took for the enslaved people in Texas to discover they were freed) with Dr. Opal on the 19th at 9:00 AM. The walk is timed with our sponsor cities across time zones – New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Tokyo, Japan – so that everyone will be walking at the same time.
We also have a virtual walk for those too far away from Fort Worth or our sponsor cities. We encourage everyone to get their “2.5” on and walk with your friends wherever you are. It’s a beautiful show of unity to demonstrate our love for freedom, especially in these difficult times.
I invite everyone to join us in the “Walk for Freedom”. We’d love to hear from those who walk in their own cities and towns. The Walk will be held next year in Washington D.C. in conjunction with the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. We’d love to have 1.5 million people walking together across the country to symbolize the 1.5 million signatures on the petition Dr. Opal delivered to Congress that led to the Juneteenth holiday in 2021.
gregoryjoel.com 