A special community event in the Central Area of Seattle will mark the end of 250 years of the brutal plunder and exploitation of enslaved African Americans in the United States. The event, which will take place on Sat., June 15, from 1:00-2:30 p.m. in front of the Washington State Labor Council (WSLC) offices, located at 321 South 16th Avenue in Seattle, will commemorate the day that marks the end of slavery in our country on June 19, 1865. Freed slaves in Texas, the last Confederate state that Union soldiers conquered at the end of the Civil War, overheard the newly freed slaves celebrating on the streets of Galveston, referencing that famous day as “Juneteenth.” It was a very colorful reference and the name stuck, all the way down to today.
Several soldiers heard one of the newly freed Black women running down the streets of downtown Galveston shouting, “We gonna finally get paid for the work we do!” It is this sentiment that marks the reason so many Washington State organizations are coming together to present this unique Juneteenth celebration, marking the right of all WORKERS to be fairly paid for the work they do.
At this outdoor event, we will host a lively afternoon of music, food, and inspirational speeches from local leaders in the fight for reparations and workers’ rights here in greater Seattle.
You will learn at our rally that President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. Because Texas was under Confederate control until 1865, the Proclamation could not be enforced. That first Juneteenth message marked the beginning, not the end, of the struggle for “an absolute equality of rights.” Juneteenth was thereafter celebrated in Texas and finally became a national holiday in 2021. At our June 15 event, we will honor and celebrate the continuing fight for reparative justice and workers’ rights.
Featured speakers include April Sims, President of the WSLC AFL-CIO; Cherika Carter, Secretary Treasurer of the WSLC, AFL-CIO; and Larry Gossett, long-time Black community activist and former Martin Luther King Jr. County Councilmember. Sims and Carter are the first-ever Black women leadership team to be elected to lead an AFL-CIO state federation. They were elected by the affiliated unions of the WSLC, representing a whopping 500,000 workers in Washington State. They have experienced firsthand the power of unions to fight for dignity and security for workers, and they continue to work tirelessly on behalf of workers’ rights. Both women have organized workers to overturn anti-union legislation and have mobilized thousands of activists to take action to protect working people.
“We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes,” notes Carter.
Larry Gossett is a long-time champion of civil and human rights, from his early days leading the University of Washington Black Student Union, as the Executive Director of the Central Area Motivation Program (CAMP). He also was the longest-serving Councilmember on the King County Council. He served from 1994 to 2020. He continues to advocate and lead the cause for social justice with PSARA and SAARC.
The Rev. Dr. Robert L. Jeffrey of New Hope Missionary Baptist Church will deliver the invocation. Singers from the New Hope Missionary Baptist Church choir will perform.
Please come out and join the celebration on June 15, bring family and friends, and come away inspired.
Sponsoring organizations of this event are: the Puget Sound Advocates for Retirement Action (PSARA), MLK Labor, Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO, and the Seattle/King County African American Reparations Committee (SAARC).
For more information about the event, please visit PSARA at psara.org or contact Larry Gossett at larrygossett09@gmail.com.
