Juneteenth

Good Afternoon Brooklyn Brownstone School,

Please see the following message from our partners at USCensus and Brownstone parents:

"What is Juneteenth?

Juneteenth marks the moment at which many of those who had been enslaved in the United States finally learned of the Emancipation Proclamation and the way in which it ultimately applied to all parts of the country -- a full two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation (1863) declared freedom for those who were enslaved.

Juneteenth reminds us that slavery didn't simply end with the Emancipation Proclamation, and the Black Lives Matter movement and the disproportionate impact COVID-19 has on Black communities shows us that to this day our institutions have been subject to manipulation over the years to render them, at times, as tools of oppression, as opposed to justice.

The census is, in concept, the very basis for the equitable distribution of money, power, and resources across the country and across communities. Although the census of today is on its face not inherently designed to marginalize any one group and is a critical exercise we must all participate in to ensure that it is, in fact, a tool for empowerment.

And so, in honor of Juneteenth, we lift up all who suffered and continue to struggle against institutional racism and we recommit to breaking the chains that remain by getting the word out to achieve a complete count in the 2020 census."

“We are a strong, resilient people who will not be marginalized and erased from this country by not participating in the 2020 Census.” -- National Urban League

Complete your census: https://2020census.gov/

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