Wisdom Wednesday – South Dallas Cultural Center https://sdcc.dallasculture.org Wed, 15 Jun 2022 17:24:10 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.7.12 https://oca-media.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2022/06/cropped-SDCC-LOGO_Updated_Sankofa-32x32.png Wisdom Wednesday – South Dallas Cultural Center https://sdcc.dallasculture.org 32 32 A Brief History of Juneteenth https://sdcc.dallasculture.org/2022/06/15/a-brief-history-of-juneteenth/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=a-brief-history-of-juneteenth Wed, 15 Jun 2022 17:12:15 +0000 https://sdcc.dallasculture.org/?p=5465 + Read More]]> Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States and originated from Galveston, Texas in 1865.

Two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, which had become official January 1, 1863, Major General Gordon Granger arrived at Galveston with news that the war had ended and that slaves were free. Because of the small amount of Union troops in the South, many states did little to enforce the executive order. With the surrender of General Lee in April of 1865 and the arrival of General Granger’s forces, they were finally able to influence and overcome the resistance.

“The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired laborer.”

Major General Gordon Granger

On January 1, 1980, Juneteenth became an official state holiday through the efforts of Al Edwards, an African American state legislator. On June 17th, 2021, President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law establishing Juneteenth as a federal holiday.

The observance of June 19th as the African American Emancipation Day has spread across the U.S. as cities and organizations come together in appreciation, reconciliation and commemoration. Juneteenth celebrates African American freedom, emphasizes on education and achievement, and encourages continuous self-development. It is a day, a week, and in some areas, a month marked with celebrations, community, food, and family gatherings. 

Here at the South Dallas Cultural Center, we celebrate Juneteenth and the freedom of African Americans daily. SDCC seeks to promote a more equitable, cooperative, and empathetic community by engaging the public with art and cultural experiences influenced by the African Diaspora.

Photographic mural by Carl Sidle, Wendall Gorden, and the Black community of Texas. Located at the South Dallas Cultural Center.

Official Juneteenth Poem:

We Rose
From Africa’s heart, we rose
Already a people, our faces ebon, our bodies lean,
We rose
Skills of art, life, beauty and family
Crushed by forces we knew nothing of, we rose
Survive we must, we did,
We rose
We rose to be you, we rose to be me,
Above everything expected, we rose
To become the knowledge we never knew,
We rose
Dream, we did
Act we must
- "We Rose" poem by Kristina Kay, 1996

Learn more about Juneteenth and its origins by visiting Juneteenth.com

Want to test your knowledge? Join SDCC for our Juneteenth Trivia Night Friday, July 17

]]> Thankful for Printmaking https://sdcc.dallasculture.org/2021/11/24/thankful-for-printmaking/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=thankful-for-printmaking Wed, 24 Nov 2021 17:00:25 +0000 https://sdcc.dallasculture.org/?p=4205 + Read More]]> We all know the history of Thanksgiving the food, the historical events, and the celebration but do know about Homowo?

Last weekend the SDCC team up with Ashely Jordon from The Coloring Boxx to lead a workshop which took a deeper look into Homowo, an annual Festival celebrated by the Ga people of Ghana. Community members of all ages explored the history of printing making, which introduced the class to Adinkra, symbols traditionally used on fabrics during celebrations, specifically, Homowo. With the foam sheet to foam board method, guests were invited to use various adinkra symbols to create individual stamping blocks and practiced printmaking on selected fabrics. And a special thanks to Deception Spirits for providing drinks for the adult class.

Here’s what we learned about Homowo:

  • Homowo means to hoot at hunger. (HOMO- hunger WO- hoot)
  • Homowo celebration marks the opening of fishing season. The Ga people participate in rituals, such as gift giving, home purifying, enjoying Kpoi kpoi or Kpekple, dance, and a day of remembrance.
  • The tradition of Homowo started with a period of hunger leading to famine due to the failure of the seasonal rains needed by the Crops in the Greater Accra Region. The Ga people still remain in this Reg ion mostly.
  • The Ga people of Ghana are a part of a large ethnic group “Akan’: The Supreme god in their religion “Nyame’:
  • Homowo starts in May which is the beginning of fishing season, and sowing millet crop. Ending, in late September at harvest time.
  • Kpoi Kpoi or Kpekple is a traditional pain nut soup prepared with fish.

Three Traditional Rituals:

  • Gbemlilaa – Forbids drumming and music to allow time for farming.
  • Nshobull mo – to calm the sea.
  • Okomfemmaa – bass fishing in the lagoon until Homowo ends.

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