Ed and Charmaine had an invigorating and insightful conversation with the passionate Dr Baptist.

#Changemaker Dr Baptist almost did not attend college as a result of the biased actions of the school counsellor who did not believe he was college material. The conversation highlighted how many back men in the USA were denied a college education. The conversation also highlighted the level of inequity in the USA.

In addition to being an academic, Dr Baptist is a musician, a man on a mission who uses his voice, experience, and research to create awareness around life as a black person in the USA. He expresses his gratitude to his amazingly courageously mum who believed and supported him. He shared his struggle after the passing of his mum.

Dr. Najja K. Baptist is an assistant professor of political science at the University of Arkansas Fayetteville. He earned his doctorate in political science from Howard University and his work has appeared in numerous journals, such as National Political Science Review; Journal of Race and Ethnicity; Politics, Groups, and Identities; and other outlets. Dr. Baptist’s work is primarily focused on Black politics, social movements, culture, political behavior, public opinion, and mass media in the United States. My project examines how the current president engages with Congress members, specifically southern Congressional Black Caucus women of color. He is also a two-time NSF grant awardee.

Last Sunday the 19th of June 2022, Juneteenth was celebrated in the USA. It was only last year it was declared a Federal holiday:

“..President Joe Biden established Juneteenth National Independence Day as a federal holiday when he signed into law a bill passed by both chambers of Congress.

The Senate approved the bill unanimously; only 14 House Republicans — many representing states that were part of the slave-holding Confederacy in the 19th century — opposed the measure.

What is this federal holiday, and what is its history? Here's a look:

What is the history of Juneteenth?

The celebration started with the freed enslaved people of Galveston, Texas. Although the Emancipation Proclamation freed enslaved people in the South in 1863, it could not be enforced in many places until after the end of the Civil War in 1865.

Laura Smalley, freed from a plantation near Bellville, Texas, remembered in a 1941 interview that her former master had gone to fight in the Civil War and came home without telling his slaves what had happened.

“Old master didn’t tell, you know, they were free,” Smalley said at the time. “I think now they say they worked them, six months after that. Six months. And turn them loose on the 19th of June. That’s why, you know, we celebrate that day.”

Union Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger and his troops arrived at Galveston on June 19, 1865, with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. That was more than two months after Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant in Virginia.

Granger delivered General Order No. 3, which said: “The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor.”

The next year, the now-free people started celebrating Juneteenth in Galveston. Its observance has continued around the nation and the world since. Events include concerts, parades, and readings of the Emancipation Proclamation.”

(Source: https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/national-international/what-is-juneteenth-the-federal-holidays-history-and-meaning-explained/3274349/)

Love and light! Ed Dudley and Charmaine Soobramoney #iamthechangeandfree #UbuntuConnectEd #weareconnected