SAN DIEGO — Last Friday, June 19th, 2020, the Old Globe Theatre held its annual Juneteenth fundraiser online to benefit the George L Stevens Senior Resource Center, named for a former San Diego City Councilman. Known for its “Fish Fry Fridays,” this center provides activities, hot meals and a sense of community to needy seniors in San Diego. Working out the bugs of our live-streaming world, the YouTube Live feed didn’t work. Fortunately, Facebook Live did.
If you’re not familiar with this holiday, Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22nd, 1862 officially liberating the 3.5 million slaves in the rebellious states of the Confederacy. Slave owners did their best to keep a tight lid on this news. So most slaves didn’t know that they were free until Union troops marched through. June 19th, 1865 was the date that Union General Gordon Granger finally reached Galveston, Texas, the most remote part of the Confederacy. Congress is currently reviewing legislation to make Juneteenth a federally recognized holiday.
Our master of ceremonies was the effervescent entertainer and composer, Karen Ann Daniels. Colorfully clad in an African dashiki, Daniels interviewed a variety of local artists associated with the Globe and presented videos from the archives of previous outreach presentations.
Teaching Artist Gill Sotu regaled us with some spoken word (original rhythmic poetry). Refreshingly buoyant, Sotu celebrates life in his skin. “I’m hella Black and I love it!” He went on to say, “Juneteenth is a reminder that in unity, we can achieve great things. … It also tells me that there’s still more work to do.”
The next artist interviewed was photographer Richard Soublet II who said, “We are more than just trauma. …There’s so much joy to be found in being Black.” (www.richshoots.com).
The jovial actor/musician Brian Barbarin talked about growing up Black in San Diego. He said that we celebrate Cinco de Mayo with margaritas and sombreros. So why not celebrate Juneteenth with some bourbon and Duke Ellington? Hey, that works for me.
“Y’all Mad” is a poignant music video by Kendrick Dial. He’s very critical of conservative society’s reactions to any demonstration against racial injustice and he does not mince words.
When we march, y’all mad
We sit down, y’all mad
We speak up, y’all mad
But when we die, y’all silent
Zooming in, Ode to my Mothers is a poetic journey written by Joy Yvonne Jones. A young woman goes from participating in the Black Lives Matter demonstrations to reliving painful chapters in African-American history. We read about these chapters, but -just as the pogroms and the Holocaust are more deeply personal for us than others- living through these chapters as part of your own family’s history puts human faces on events and brings them home.
From the Archive, there were video presentations of the Globe’s outreach productions. “Elizabeth Keckley: From Slavery to Modiste” tells the story of a woman born into slavery who became Mary Todd Lincoln’s personal dressmaker and confidant. Eboni Harvey’s “Dissecting Fortune” was a staged reading about the all-too commonly hostile interactions between the police and Black citizens. “The Ruby In Us” is a musical that tells the story of Ruby Bridges, the incredibly brave and resilient little girl who paved the way for integrated schools in spite of vocal and often violent hostility. I really enjoyed the preacher who engaged the audience with the call/response of a Black Gospel church. Now why can’t synagogue be more like that?
Hats off to the Old Globe. By the end, the 2020 Juneteenth fundraiser raised $3,240 for the George L Stevens Senior Resource Center. That will certainly fry up a few fish.
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Eric George Tauber is a freelance writer who specializes in coverage of the arts. He may be contacted via eric.tauber@sdjewishworld.com