For close to ten years, I have served as the official photographer for one of Philadelphia's oldest and most beloved Juneteenth festivals. I am months away from self-publishing a photo book about the first seven years of this assignment, entitled Compositions of Black Joy: A Visual Chronicle of the Philadelphia Juneteenth Festival (2015-2022).
Thank you for this essay. I appreciate your take on the Juneteenth holiday. I completely agree that when we examine Juneteenth through the lens of history, it represented a partial victory for enslaved Africans in America at that time. That moment opened up a portal of joyful and purposeful possibilities that I choose to focus on in my work.
I've witnessed first hand what a well-planned and executed Festival can do for, and with, community. For some, the holiday is certainly a respite from the grind of daily life; for others (and I'm thinking of so many, including the organizer of the Festival here in Philadelphia who is also executive director of the Johnson House Historic Site, an Underground Railroad Station, Center for Social Advocacy, and historic house museum), it IS their life.
Again, this is good stuff... I will be reading and reflecting on the other published works you've linked to, because iron sharpens iron. Thank you!
We'll look forward to seeing your book! If you would like to publish a few of your photos along with a short essay in our journal, to let people know about the book, we'd be happy to do that.
Thank you for this. The recent celebration of the 80th anniversary of D-Day is another example; a great victory, but the war was not over.
Perfect example, yes.
Partial victories are the things that give you the hope and stamina to keep fighting for the full ones.
For close to ten years, I have served as the official photographer for one of Philadelphia's oldest and most beloved Juneteenth festivals. I am months away from self-publishing a photo book about the first seven years of this assignment, entitled Compositions of Black Joy: A Visual Chronicle of the Philadelphia Juneteenth Festival (2015-2022).
Thank you for this essay. I appreciate your take on the Juneteenth holiday. I completely agree that when we examine Juneteenth through the lens of history, it represented a partial victory for enslaved Africans in America at that time. That moment opened up a portal of joyful and purposeful possibilities that I choose to focus on in my work.
I've witnessed first hand what a well-planned and executed Festival can do for, and with, community. For some, the holiday is certainly a respite from the grind of daily life; for others (and I'm thinking of so many, including the organizer of the Festival here in Philadelphia who is also executive director of the Johnson House Historic Site, an Underground Railroad Station, Center for Social Advocacy, and historic house museum), it IS their life.
Again, this is good stuff... I will be reading and reflecting on the other published works you've linked to, because iron sharpens iron. Thank you!
We'll look forward to seeing your book! If you would like to publish a few of your photos along with a short essay in our journal, to let people know about the book, we'd be happy to do that.