The Story of Abe

I have, once again felt the need to explain what I have written and give it an introduction.  This is for the piece published last week titled “Juneteenth, Black Lives Matter, and Myself” and gives more of an insight into my emotional state.  This was originally written as the opening of an evening of learning and discussion with Kibbutz Mishol.

A wave of protests swept across America immediately following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25th.  Video of his death, filmed by onlookers, showed police officers pinning him to the ground until he lost consciousness.  One officer is seen looking very casual as he presses his knee into George’s neck.  Pleas for mercy from George were ignored by the officers.  Rallies against police use of force began the next day and spread to over 400 cities across all 50 states and have spread to over 60 countries around the world.  

History, Memory and Identity in the Summer of 2020

Juneteenth

In September of 1862, in the middle of the American Civil War, President Lincoln issued an executive order known as The Emancipation Proclamation. The proclamation freed all enslaved people in the rebelling southern states once they were outside the control of the Confederate government by the advance of Union soldiers.  It went into effect on the first of January 1863 roughly half way between the beginning and end of the war.