Happy Father's Day to all you fathers and grandfathers out there.
And it's the real Juneteenth, too. (Tomorrow is the Federal holiday.) It celebrates the emancipation of the slaves. It's been an official holiday in Texas since 1980 but only became a Federal holiday last year.
A group photograph of thirty-one people at an 1880 Juneteenth
Celebration at Emancipation Park in Houston's Fourth Ward.
The best article I found on Juneteenth is "What is Juneteenth, and how is it celebrated?" at BBC History Magazine (requires signup for free trial). Did you know that there are Emancipation Parks in cities all over the U.S., on land originally purchased for Juneteenth celebrations? Seems some white people in certain cities tried to block Juneteenth gatherings. The original Emancipation Park, in Houston, now the oldest park in the city, was purchased with $1,000 raised by formerly enslaved people specifically for Juneteenth celebrations. Another thing I just learned: red food is a Juneteenth tradition.
I choose to not celebrate Juneteenth—but to celebrate Black people celebrating it. It's their holiday, not mine—but I hope everyone has a fine, and fun, and peaceful and satisfying day. And for Black fathers, it's a twofer.
Mike
Book o' the Week:
The Beatles: Get Back. The story of the band's last year, coinciding with the release of Peter Jackson's documentary Get Back.
The book link is your portal to Amazon from TOP, should you wish to support this site.
Original contents copyright 2020 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:
John Krill: "Every time I picked up a camera I have the ghost of my father standing behind me. Every time I work on a computer I have the ghost of my father standing behind me. My dad was an early photographer, the 1920s, he was also an early computer designer, the 1950s. I worked at fixing and repairing computers for 30 years. And I have been a serious amateur photographer since 1959. So, you see, everyday is Father's Day for me."
Mike, it seems to me that Juneteenth is rightfully your holiday too — a celebration of the country's freeing itself (at least officially) from an evil that injured and stained the soul of the entire nation and every one of its citizens. When the chain of slavery is broken it frees the people at both ends of the chain. So hurrah for Juneteenth, hurrah for freed slaves and emancipation, hurrah for African Americans, and hurrah for the nation in its struggles towards equality!
Posted by: David Miller | Sunday, 19 June 2022 at 02:12 PM
Yesterday (Father's Day) I found myself photographing Kinteel, an Chacoan ruin two miles of dirt road off of Route 9 in the Navajo reservation with my dad's Rolleiflex 3.5e2. It was probably the most 'in spirit' thing I could have been doing on Father's Day. I didn't plan it that way, but I guess I'm my father's son. He was an anthropologist and amateur photographer who died in 2005. I am not an anthropologist, but I've done my best to extend his legacy by sharing his thirst for cultural understanding with my kids, who were there taking photos with their iPhones.
Posted by: Alex G. | Monday, 20 June 2022 at 08:35 AM
Garrick's Photo Supply once supplied many professional photographers in Detroit, but like many old Detroit business establishments, it is long gone.
Posted by: Herman krieger | Tuesday, 21 June 2022 at 02:46 PM