Black Freedom. Black Culture. Black Pride.

As BAJI joins in the commemoration of Juneteenth, we reflect on the spirit of freedom celebrated on this singularly Black US holiday. Juneteenth is the day when enslaved Black people in Galveston, on the Gulf Coast of Texas, were finally informed of the defeat of the Confederacy and the end of chattel slavery. 

Juneteenth acknowledges much more than a late notice of the surrender of the Confederacy. Contained within this celebration is the recognition of all those Black folk who resisted their enslavement by any means necessary, including work stoppages, escape, sabotage, abortion, poisonings, and rebellion.

That spirit of Black resistance and yearning for freedom finds creative expression in the music of those who resisted and their descendents. From coded Negro spirituals and ring shouts to blues, jazz and hiphop, Black music is the inspiration soundtrack of freedom dreams and movements across the United States and the world.

That same spirit of resistance and freedom is found in the DNA of Marsha P. Johnson and other Black LGBTQ+ people who set off and continue the fight for something deeper than “love is love” – the basic freedom to simply exist, as you are and as you choose to be seen. It’s perhaps the biggest single challenge of the 21st century. 

On this Juneteenth, BAJI is proud to stand in the tradition of fighting, loving, and living for Black freedom.

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The month of June in the USA brings many things; specifically Black Music Month, LGBTQIA Pride Month and Juneteenth, the day when enslaved Black people in Galveston, on the Gulf Coast of Texas, were informed of the defeat of the Confederacy and the final end of chattel slavery. BAJI acknowledges, salutes, celebrates and commemorates? 

honors? 

all of these events? 

remembrances? 

because of their commonalities: freedom.

Deeper than the right to simply “love who you love,”