June 19th, also known as Juneteenth, was honored throughout the country this past weekend to commemoration of the supposed end to slavery in the United States. Historically, Black and Brown communities have been the only one to truly honor this day and we say it was a ‘supposed’ end to slavery because it would be absolutely wrong to suggest that Black, Brown, and Latinx individuals are liberated today, even in the year 2020. While slavery in the form it was once known may have ceased, the system of mass incarceration swiftly took its place in the United States. The U.S. incarcerates more people than any other country in the world, with New York State being one of the worst culprits.
Next year, Juneteenth will be considered a federal holiday. Does it deserve to be a federal holiday? Yes. Is making Juneteenth a holiday enough? Absolutely not. City Council members, Mayors, Sheriffs, Assemblymembers, Senators, and Governor Cuomo will have to do much more to rectify the damage caused by generations of racist policing and mass incarceration. Elected officials do not have to figure this out alone though. We’re here to let them know exactly what needs to be done.
We will be at a different jail throughout the region every Friday starting with Albany Correctional Facility on Friday, July 3rd. Join us on this Jails Tour as we share our demands for the justice and equity that will bring the TRUE liberation we deserve.
What: Capital Region Jails Tour
When: Every Friday starting Friday, July 3rd
Where: Albany County Jail (840 Albany Shaker Road Albany, NY 12211)
Co-Hosted By: VOCAL-NY, All Of Us, and EVERYONE who can come!
Why: Continuing to unite the Capital Region behind our 13 demands, join us as we continue to deliver our message about the need to defund police and invest in communities, and for our 13 demands to be met by each and every city’s officials throughout the region. Join us as we explain that freedom from plantation slavery does not lead to liberation for Black, Brown, Latinx, and communities with low to no income if we do not do away with carceral system being used to prolong racist power dynamics under the guise of ‘criminal justice’.
Albany, NY 12211