Greetings to all.
On July 17, 2021, Juneteenth officially became a national federal holiday and President Joe Biden signed into law an important part of American history. This year, states across the nation will observe Juneteenth as a paid holiday and as a day to celebrate the emancipation of African Americans in what was known as the Confederate South. Juneteenth is connected to Abraham Lincoln freeing enslaved Africans through the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. However, it took over two years for the news to reach Galveston, Texas. On June 19, 1865, Union General Gordon Granger and his troops arrived in Galveston and observed that people were still enslaved. Although freed, emancipated African Americans faced challenges with integrating themselves as citizens and developing a new definition of freedom.
Prior to Lincoln, African Americans practiced self-emancipation from slavery by maintaining their cultural heritage through song, dance, food, and the oral tradition of storytelling. Within the context of film, an unsung storyteller, Oscar Micheaux, is considered the first Black/African American filmmaker. During the early 1900s, Micheaux faced challenges with acquiring land in America, despite the creation of the Homestead Act, which included African Americans. Racial discrimination prevented African Americans from acquiring and enjoying the benefits of citizenship, despite their freedom status. Micheaux recorded these experiences, which became a novel, and eventually a film. After experiencing disputes with a film company, Micheaux created his own publishing and film company and produced The Homesteader in 1919.
Micheaux’s films created a space to develop positive images for African Americans, as well as address aspects of racial discrimination through the characters and storylines. During Juneteenth events and traditions, African Americans take the time to recognize and celebrate accomplishments made by individuals and communities that have overcome the obstacles.
In recognition of the upcoming holiday of Juneteenth, the DEI Office of the School of Visual Arts would like to offer a list of recommended media and activities that you and your loved ones can watch, read, listen to or participate in during the holiday week. We hope all get the opportunity to educate themselves about Juneteenth and its significance in the Black community. In addition, we hope all gain an understanding of the African American/Black experience through our recommendations.
Movies
Biography
Malcolm X (Amazon Prime)
Selma (Hulu)
Hidden Figures (Disney+)
The Pursuit of Happyness (Hulu)
Remember the Titans (YouTube)
Coach Carter (YouTube)
Precious (YouTube)
Antwoine Fisher (Hulu)
Lean on Me (HBO Max)
Judas and the Black Messiah (HBO Max)
Documentary
Free Angela and All Political Prisoners (Amazon Prime)
Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution (YouTube)
Summer of Soul (Hulu)
I Am Not Your Negro (HBO Max)
June 13 (Netflix)
Music
The Temptations (Amazon Prime)
Amazing Grace: Aretha Franklin (Hulu)
Homecoming: A Film by Beyonce (Netflix)
Sister Act (Disney+)
Straight Outta Compton (YouTube)
The Five Heartbeats (YouTube)
Struggle Films
Boyz n the Hood (Amazon Prime)
Menace 2 Society (Netflix)
Baby Boy (Vudu)
The Color Purple (HBO Max)
Do the Right Thing (Google Play)
Set It Off (YouTube)
ATL (YouTube)
Crooklyn (Hulu)
For Colored Girls (Hulu)
Da 5 Bloods (Netflix)
The Hate U Give (Hulu)
Green Book (Hulu)
Goodies
Soul Food (Hulu)
Black Panther (Disney+)
Poetic Justice
How Stella Got Her Groove Back
House Party
Dope
Akeelah and the Bee (YouTube)
Comedy
Undercover Brother
Richard Pryor (various)
The Nutty Professor
Friday
TV Shows
Dear White People (Netflix)
Black-ish (Hulu)
When They See Us (Netflix)
Soul Train (YouTube)
Juneteenth Jamboree (PBS)
Miss Juneteenth (Amazon)
Moesha (Netflix)
Sister, Sister (Netflix)
Martin (HBO Max)
Living Single (Hulu)
The Wayans Bros. (Amazon)
Watchmen (HBO Max)
Pose (Netflix)
Lovecraft Country (HBO Max)
Rosewood (Amazon)
Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker (Netflix)
#BlackAF (Netflix)
Music
Soul and R&B
Sam Cooke
Nina Simone
Billie Holiday
Aretha Franklin
James Brown
Marvin Gaye
H.ER.
Shirley Horn
Miles Davis
Sade
Hip Hop
DJ Kool Herc
RUN DMC
Sugar Hill Gang
MC Sha-Rock
Salt-N-Pepa
Snoop Dogg
Dr. Dre
LL Cool J
OutKast
Wu-Tang Clan
Nas
N.W.A.
ICE Cube
Eazy-E
A Tribe Called Quest
Mos Def
Queen Latifah
P. Diddy
Common
Ice-T
Lauryn Hill
The Notorious B.I.G.
J.Cole
Tupac Shakur
Jay-Z
Kanye West
Kendrick Lamar
Songs
H.E.R., “I Can’t Breathe”
Black Thought, “Approximately Free”
D Smoke, “Kinfolk”
Hit-Boy, “Back In Traffic”
Maverick City Music, “Breathe”
Tobe Nwigwe, “Passing Through”
Zeal & Ardor, “Calloway”
Sech, “Somos Iguales”
Saba,“Black Astronaut”
Honey Dijon,“Unleash”
Jean Dawson, “Ghost*”
H.E.R., cover of Marvin Gaye's “Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)”
Jimmie Allen, over of Charley Pride’s “Kiss An Angel Good Mornin’”
Kirk Franklin, “Overcome 2021” (cover of “We Shall Overcome”)
Madison Calley, cover of the Black national anthem, “Lift Every Voice And Sing”
Willie Jones, cover of Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song”
Amara, cover of Herbie Hancock’s “Butterfly”
Tems, cover of John Legend’s “Ordinary People”
Kane Brown’s reimagining of his own song, “Worldwide Beautiful”
Chloe x Halle, cover of TLC’s “Waterfalls”
Terrace Martin and Brandee Younger, cover of H.E.R.’s “Damage”
Exhibitions
African American Museum of Nassau County, Hempstead, New York
Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts (MoCADA), 80 Hanson Place
The Wallach Art Gallery at Columbia University Lenfest Center of the Arts, 615 West 129th Street
The Schomburg Center, 101 West 135th Street
The Africa Center, 1280 Fifth Avenue
Weeksville Heritage Center, 158 Buffalo Avenue, Brooklyn
Museum of Women’s Resistance, 279 Empire Boulevard, Brooklyn
The Museum at FIT, 227 West 27th Street
Queens Museum, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens
Kente Royal Gallery, 2373 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Avenue
New Museum, 235 Bowery
The Bronx Museum of the Arts, 1040 Grand Concourse, Bronx
Black Artists
Kara Walker, contemporary arts
Kehinde Wiley, portrait painter
Jean-Michel Basquiat, Neo-Expressionist painting, drawing
Jacob Lawrence, painter
Kerry James Marshall, painter
Faith Ringgold, painter, writer, mixed-edia sculptor and performance artist
August Savage, sculptor
Gary Simmons (BFA 1988 Fine Arts), painter and sculptor
Henry Ossawa Tanner, painter
Carrie Mae Weems, artist working in text, fabric, audio, digital images, installation, video and photography
Edmonia Lewis, sculptor
Renee Cox (MFA 1992 Photography and Related Media), multimedia artist
Gordon Parks, photographer, musician, writer and film director
Lorna Simpson (BFA 1982 Photography), photographer and multimedia artist
Oscar Micheaux, author, filmmaker
Roxane Gay, writer
Dawoud Bey (1977 Photography), photographer
SVA Library
Black Freedom Struggles in the United States
Literature
Children’s
Addy: An American Girl, Connie Rose Porter
Freedom’s Gifts: A Juneteenth Story, Valerie Wesley
All Different Now: Juneteenth the First Day of Freedom, Angela Johnson
I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly: The Diary of Patsy, a Freed Girl, Joyce Hansen
Teens/YA
Crossing Ebenezer Creek, by Tonya Bolden
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds
Adults
The Deep, River Solomon, with Daveed Diggs, Willian Huston and Jonathan Snipes
Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates
Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, Ibram X. Kendi
The Brightest Day: A Juneteenth Historical Romance Anthology, Kianna Alexander, Alyssa Cole, Lena Hart and Piper Huguley
On Juneteenth, Annette Gordon-Reed
Articles
“Building a Juneteenth Menu for the 21st Century, One Recipe at a Time,” The New York Times
“This Is How We Juneteenth,” The New York Times
2022 Community Events and Celebrations
New York Family’s list of Juneteenth events
Eventbrite’s Juneteenth roundup
NY1’s list of Juneteenth events
The New York Times’ list of Juneteenth and Pride Month events