Freedom Day Rings Loud

America is coming together to let freedom ring for JUNETEENTH 2020 with an exclamation point! The Coronavirus has forced all celebratory events to pivot virtually. However, as the nation begins to reopen state by state and region by region – you can count on outdoor marches, protests and a few festivities. Corporate America is rising up with positive changes. We share how the country has become Socially Sparked®.

Juneteenth

June 19th dubbed Juneteenth, marks 145 years since the emancipation proclamation was enacted to emancipate the slavesThe year was 1865. The place was Galveston, Texas. The moment in time changed our history forever. Today, Juneteenth has become one of the most important events of the year. Celebrations are planned across the nation

Together to let freedom ring

George Floyd & the Rebirth of a Movement

In the wake of the brutal killing of George Floyd, there is a re-energized and unified spark; a rebirth to the Black Lives Matter movement. African American protesters were joined by citizens of every color, every race, every ethnicity and every minority.

The Nation Responds

The world watched as the country reacts by speaking and acting out in multiple ways:

  • Music Creators – Husband and wife singer-songwriter duo Buddy and Julie Miller created the song “Public Service Song No. 5” “Get Offa My Money” with lyric video in response to their disgust at learning our founding fathers were slave owners. All proceeds of the song and video are earmarked to benefit The Black Lives Matter movement, buy it here.  The song and video premiered June 18th in American Songwiter.
  • Aunt Jemima – The Quaker Oats Company will remove longstanding iconic “Aunt Jemima” from all packaging, starting a trend where other consumer goods giants like General Mills are following suit with their products.
  • Black Tuesday, The Show Must Be Paused – an event initiated by the music industry to pause the day became an all industry, al people virtual event.
  • Statements – a multitude of American industries, companies and media stressing their support of Black Lives Matter began to pop up on company websites and in consumers’ email inboxes.
  • Diversity and Inclusion Department and/or Policies are being crafted by companies large and small.
  • The Entertainment Industry- is re-examining their policies and awards shows to answer the country’s unified calls to end systemic racism.
  • The Sports Industry – as June19th approaches, Nike and The NFL have declared Juneteenth a holiday. Nascar will no longer tolerate confederate flags. And the list continues to grow.
  • New York State – Governor Andrew Cuomo declared this Juneteenth a state holiday for eimpoyees and signed legislation to make the day a state-wide holiday for 2021 and beyond.
Socially Sparked

Americans are coming together to let freedom ring loudly and peacefully this Juneteenth Day and beyond. It is still way too early to know if the current fever and infection of doing right by doing good for maximum social impact will last. That being said, the tide is changing, the nation is rising up  for Black Lives Matter, racism and equality for all! Forever Socially Sparked! Tweet @sosparked news & @asparks01