June 16, 2022 In Agency Culture, By Liz Smith

Juneteenth Resources

*updated 6/1/2023

Juneteenth, also known as Jubilee Day, Emancipation Day, Freedom Day, and Black Independence Day, is celebrated on June 19th, commemorating the emancipation of enslaved African-Americans, and often also a celebration of African-American culture. The holiday has been celebrated since 1865 and was officially made a federal holiday in 2021.

While slavery may have ended on this day many years ago, we at Media Cause are aware that its lasting impacts stay with us in the form of systemic racism. We’re constantly taking time to learn and grow to be better allies in the fight for racial justice. We continue to listen, learn, and strategize on steps we can take to support Black lives in a meaningful way. We’ve committed to a list of actions as a company that we are continually expanding and improving upon.

In honor of the holiday, we are also sharing additional ways in which everyone can learn, get involved, and donate to fight for racial equality. While we’ve included an extensive list of resources, we know it only just scratches the surface of what can be done.

 

Organizations to Connect With

Whether you’re looking for educational resources or want to get involved, these organizations are a great place to start.

Black Women’s Blueprint—Their mission is to provide services and spaces for healing, reconciliation and human connection with the natural world. Working with land, they bring people together to design and practice strategies for healing, health and reparative economics. ​

Black Youth Project —BYP has various local chapters. The Black Youth Project examines the attitudes, resources, and culture of the young, urban black millennial, exploring how these factors and others influence their decision-making, norms, and behavior in critical domains such as sex, health, and politics. 

Color Of Change—Color Of Change is the nation’s largest online racial justice organization. They help people respond effectively to injustice in the world around us. 

Colorlines—Colorlines is a daily news site where race matters, featuring award-winning in-depth reporting, news analysis, opinion and curation.

The Conscious Kid—The Conscious Kid is an education, research, and policy organization that supports families and educators in taking action to disrupt racism, inequity and bias

The Movement for Black Lives—The Movement for Black Lives (M4BL), formed in December of 2014, was created as a space for Black organizations across the country to debate and discuss the current political conditions, develop shared assessments of what political interventions were necessary in order to achieve key policy, cultural and political wins, convene organizational leadership in order to debate and co-create a shared movement wide strategy. 

NAACP + NAACP Legal Defense Fund—The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is a civil rights organization formed as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans. The Legal Defense Fund (LDF) is America’s premier legal organization fighting for racial justice. 

National Urban League—The National Urban League is a historic civil rights organization dedicated to economic empowerment in order to elevate the standard of living in historically underserved urban communities.

Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ)—SURJ has various local chapters. Find yours here. Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) is a national organization that brings hundreds of thousands of white people into fights for racial and economic justice.

Young, Black, & Lit.—Young, Black & Lit was started by book lovers who understand the critical importance of reading and representation in the lives of children. Their mission is simple, to increase access to children’s books that center, reflect, and affirm the experiences of Black children. 

 

Organizations to Donate to

If you want to use your wallet to make an impact, consider donating to one of these organizations. Of course, there are many, many other deserving nonprofits not on this list, and we encourage you to look into what feels right for your personal values.

The Bail Project—Believes that paying bail for someone in need is an act of resistance against a system that criminalizes race and poverty and an act of solidarity with local communities and movements for decarceration. 

Fair Fight—Founded by Stacey Abrams, Fair Fight promotes fair elections by bringing voter discrimination to light with education programs and election reform advocacy.

Higher Heights Leadership Fund—Higher Heights Leadership Fund’s work is to elevate Black women’s voices to shape and advance progressive policies and to provide opportunities for these women to build their leadership skills, through training programs, civic engagement, and networking opportunities.

NAACP Legal Defense Fund—LDF works to protect the most vulnerable in our society. They work to win landmark legal battles, protect voters across the nation, and advance the cause of racial justice, equality, and an inclusive society.

United Negro College Fund—UNCF envisions a nation where all Americans have equal access to a college education that prepares them for rich intellectual lives, competitive and fulfilling careers, engaged citizenship and service to our nation.

And a few more worth checking out: Woke Vote, Baltimore Action Legal Team, Black Visions Collective – MN, Louisville Community Bail Fund, Massachusetts Bail Fund, Minnesota Freedom Fund, National Urban League, Reclaim the Block, Southern Poverty Law Center, Black Women Radicals, African American Policy Forum

 

Attend Events 

Take time to celebrate your local community and find ways to support them during this time of celebration. We’ve highlighted a few events local to our offices:


No matter where you are located, here are a few tips for finding your own local events and rallies:

  • Search in the Events section of Facebook for events and protests in your area
  • Sign up for updates and newsletters from the organizations in the sections above, specifically the local chapters
  • Check your local events on Google
  • Keep up with Rally list

Educational Resources

Whether you prefer to read, listen, or watch, there are an abundance of ways to educate yourself and change your way of thinking.

Books:

Articles:

TV Shows + Movies:

Web Videos:

Podcasts:

 

Courses

If you really want to take your education to the next level, consider checking out one of these courses.

African American History: From Emancipation to the Present (Free online Yale)—The purpose of this course is to examine the African American experience in the United States from 1863 to the present (2010). 

Diversity Inclusion Toolkit—A curated collection of content for developing inclusive teams.

Race and Rights in America—This course explores the diverse political philosophies of influential black Americans as they sought to secure their dignity as human beings and rights as citizens. 

Various series on the National Museum for African American History and Culture Website—Explore African American history through digital activities on the Smithsonian Learning Lab platform. The activities, or collections, have gathered objects, stories, videos and thinking questions all in one place.