Since that first anniversary when enslaved Black people finally received news of the Emancipation Proclamation, Juneteenth has been a celebration of freedom, independence, and possibility. The annual commemoration of that day — June 19, 1865 — has taken shape in the form of gathering, reuniting with family, actualizing radical change and progress. “My biggest takeaway was that this was an experience of Black folks finding ways to celebrate in the midst of madness,” said Kelsey Daniels , discussing her reintroduction to the day in her late 20s.
Daniels is an artist, organizer, and baddie scholar whose work centers around “dreaming as a form of liberation practice ...
creating spaces for people to imagine worlds beyond the harmful systems that we exist under.” One of the ways that she’s doing this work is through her “Black Dream Experiment,” part of her project as a grant recipient for the “Far South/Border North: Artists and Cultural Practitioners in Community” —a two-year regional program providing financial support toward work increasing public awareness about public health, environmental conservation, civic engagement, and social justice. This experiment, taking place from 6 to 9:30 p.
m. Thursday at You Belong Here, includes art, music, dialogue, and daydreaming around what an affirming San Diego can look like for all Black people. (Guests can RSVP at bit.
ly/BDEImaginationActivation .) As part of this conversation about Juneteenth and dreams of free.
