Celebrating Juneteenth
Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. Though the Emancipation Proclamation was signed on January 1, 1863, it took two and a half years for slaves in the state of Texas to be told of their freedom. Juneteenth is the celebration of the day when all enslaved individuals became aware of their freedom.
In 2022, our community celebrated Juneteenth with several events happening throughout the weekend. Thank you to all who joined us!
2022 Weekend Schedule
FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 2022
6:00PM at the Keene Public Library
FREE Family Dinner of maccaroni and cheese, soup and salad, followed by a Performance by Hip-Hop & Afrobeats Artist Edwin Owusu
9:00PM at Yahso Jamaican Grille
Juneteenth Celebration Posh 2022 DJ Party
SATURDAY, JUNE 18TH, 2022
9:00-11:00AM at the Keene Family YMCA
Guided Freedom Trail Walk
11:00AM-Noon at the Keene Family YMCA
A Conversation About Health & Race
11:00AM-2:00PM at Railroad Square, Downtown Keene
City of Keene’s Juneteenth Celebration
2:30PM at St. James Episcopal Church
Gospel Concert with Boston-based gospel choir – Joyful Voices of Inspiration
ALL WEEKEND LONG
Self-Guided Freedom Trail Walk at the Keene Family YMCA
2022 Juneteenth T-Shirt Sales to Benefit YMCA BIPOC Scholarship Fund
Get your commemorative Juneteenth t-shirt! We still have a few available in limited sizes. Proceeds will benefit the Y’s newly formed BIPOC Scholarship Fund, which provides full membership at the Keene Family YMCA for people of color in our community. Shirts are $20 each and can be purchased at the Y Welcome Center, or by calling 603.352.6002.
Available only while supplies last!
You can also donate directly to the BIPOC Scholarship Fund by clicking the link below.
2022 Event Sponsors
Continue the Journey
Keene Family YMCA seeks to be welcoming and inclusive without exception, and is steadfastly committed to supporting, highlighting, and celebrating diversity in our community year-round. Everyone is welcome at the Y.
To advance equity, we must evaluate and dismantle the barriers to opportunities, access and resources that have prevented the full participation of some groups and develop relevant solutions and support systems.
The first step is awareness. Here we’re providing you with some actions you can take to continue learning and to support national efforts to break down the barriers that have been contributing to the inequity that continues to plague our society. We hope you’ll find these resources helpful in furthering your understanding of the movement.
Join us!
Interested in becoming a YMCA Diversity Ambassador? Complete the form and we’ll be in touch!
Racial Justice & Community Safety Committee Report
City of Keene, New Hampshire, March 18, 2021
“Does systemic racism exist in NH?”
by Dan and Sindiso Mnisi Weeks
NH Business Review, May 30, 2021
“Inequality at school – What’s behind the racial disparity in our education system?”
by Kirsten Weir
American Psychological Association, November 2016, Vol 47, No. 10
Institutional Racism in the Health Care System
AAFP, Policies
Racism in healthcare: What you need to know
Medical News Today
Racism and discrimination in health care: Providers and patients
Harvard Health Publishing, Harvard Health Blog
Institutional Racism and Health Care for Minorities
by Sharon Liao, WebMD
What is systemic racism?
by Kate Slater, Today.com
Anti-racist Roadmap
by Kate Slater
The Tapestry of Black Business Ownership in America
a publication of the Association for Enterprise Opportunity (AEO)
Continuum on Becoming an Anti-Racist Multicultural Organization
Crossroads Ministry, Chicago, IL
Racism has a cost for everyone
TED Talk by Heather C. McGhee
How Structural Racism Works – Racist Policies as Root Cause of U.S. Racial Health Inequities
The New England Journal of Medicine, February 25, 2021
by Zinzi D. Bailey, Sc.D., M.S.P.H., Justin M. Feldman, Sc.D., and Mary T. Bassett, M.D., M.P.H.
7 myths about “defunding the police” debunked
by Howard Henderson and Ben Yisrael
Brookings, May 19, 2021
From Privilege to Progress
A national movement to desegregate the conversation about race and racism started by Melissa DePino and Michelle Saahene
Two Distant Strangers
In this Oscar-winning short film, a man trying to get home to his dog becomes stuck in a time loop that forces him to relive a deadly run-in with a police officer.
Ending the War on Drugs: By the Numbers
by Betsy Pearl, June 27, 2018
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You
by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
How to Be an Antiracist
by Ibram X. Kendi
White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism
by Robin DiAngelo
Introduction to InShape – a program by Ken Jue
Celebrating 10 African American Medical Pioneers
by Julia Haskins, Special to AAMCNews
