The Juneteenth Mixtape

The Juneteenth Mixtape from Be Antiracist with Ibram X. Kendi

Another June, another opportunity to learn about and celebrate Juneteenth. Our particular place of employment does not currently give folks Juneteenth off but instead has encouraged it as a day of learning. This year we had some truly engaging content sponsored by the company and our internal employee resource groups that I really appreciated. That said… I’m not sure as a company or as leaders we’re truly doing enough yet to clear the day of other meetings to make space for learning. I commit to pushing harder on this next year to try and help get more participation from my local team.

For Ally Podcast Club this month as we sought out a podcast to feature, we came across this one from Ibram X. Kendi who we’ve featured in previous podcasts and very much enjoyed. We thought it was very personal and easy to relate to and enjoyed hearing about what Juneteenth means to various people and how it shows up in their lives.

Suggested discussion questions (if you need something to start the conversation):

• What did you do this year for Juneteenth? What did your place of employment do (if anything)?

• Holidays can be both a time to celebrate and a time to reflect. It’s in some ways a beautiful combination of two distinct feelings. Have you noticed the same?

• “the struggle isn’t over” - thoughts on this statement as it relates to Juneteenth? How can we honor that in our observance of the holiday?