This is Juneteenth!
THIS is the official date of Juneteenth.
What is June 19 (1865)?
Birthplace of icon Beyoncé, THIS numerical ward, also called "The Tre," was (and still is) a hub for Black culture and advancement after the Civil War ended.
What is Third Ward, Houston Texas?
(Also home to Texas's second black high school - Yates High School. Alumni include actor Phylicia Rashad and George Floyd.)
When first brought to North America during the 1600s and 1700s, enslaved Africans used THIS percussive instrument to communicate with each other. - 4 letters.
What is "Drum"?
Arguably the most famous and influential Black intellectual from the reconstruction era, HE was an abolitionist leader, women's rights activist and author. Was also the first African American nominated for vice president of the United States.
Who is Frederick Douglass? (February 1818 - February 20, 1895) (Was also married to abolitionist- Helen Pitts, in one of the first documented interracial marriages in our nation’s history)
THIS is the common name for liquor or cheap beer.
What is Booze?
Enslaved Africans mistakingly took to calling THIS sweet vegetable by it's West African name, "nyami", which was overheard and Anglicized into what they are still called today.
What are Yams?
(In fact, at this time yams did not exist in America and were actually sweet potatoes)
THIS song was first published officially in 1901, but it’s been around for much longer. In the song, freedom seekers were told do THIS to travel without leaving a trace and evade search dogs.
What is Wade in the Water?
(Scholars believe that this song was used to transmit secret codes to freedom seekers.)
THESE are two of the three names Juneteenth is also informally called.
What are Emancipation Day, Freedom Day, and/or Jubilee Day?
On June 18, 1865, Union General Gordon Granger arrived at THIS island city with 2,000 Federal troops to assume ownership of the military department in Texas. On the following day, he officially announced that the Civil War was over two years prior and that the enslaved were free.
What is Galveston?
THIS national organization, usually referred to by its acronym, was established in 1909 and is America’s oldest and largest civil rights organization. - 5 letters
What is the NAACP?
(It was created by an interracial group of activists working in response to the Springfield, Illinois race riots a year prior.)
A Prominent journalist, activist and researcher, SHE sued the Southwestern Railroad Company in 1885 and won a $500 settlement after the crew forced her to move back to the train car for African Americans.
Who is Ida B. Wells? (July 16, 1862 - March 25, 1931)
To be in good physical shape is to be "Fit as THIS".
What is A Fiddle?
Amateur historians have often credited Thomas Jefferson with introducing THIS classic two-named pasta side dish, but it was his enslaved Black chef, James Hemmings, who perfected it.
What is Macaroni and Cheese?
As a conductor on the Underground Railroad, Harriet Tubman said that she used THESE songs such as "Go Down Moses" to signal enslaved people that she was in the area and would help any who wanted to escape.
What are Spirituals?
THIS document legally outlawed the institution of slavery in 1865.
What is the 13th Amendment?
During reconstruction, southerners in THIS city, the largest city within Fort Bend County, sought to replace their loss of labor by jailing freed enslaved people on made-up charges in order to hand them over to sugar cane plantations.
What is Sugar Land, Texas?
Bill Bailey (considered one of the best rhythm dancers of the 19th century) was the first person in history to be recorded performing THIS legendary backward sliding dance; named and made popular nearly half a century later by the "King of Pop". - 8 letters.
What is "Moonwalk"?
A freed enslaved person that reentered the institution of slavery after repeated attempts to buy his family failed, HE would go on to be with them in Texas until Juneteenth. Thereafter, he became a reverend, teacher, and influential community leader.
Who is Jack Yates? (July 11, 1828 – December 22, 1897) (He was also instrumental in purchasing Emancipation Park)
THESE narrow houses, named after a double barrel weapon, are prevalent in African American communities in New Orleans and other areas of the southern United States.
Who is Shotgun House?
A recipe borrowed from Indigenous tribes, enslaved African Americans took hominy (or "Indian corn"), to make THIS grainy dish. The ongoing debate of sweet vs. salty, still lives on today.
What are Grits?
THIS hymn turned anthem was written as a poem by NAACP leader James Weldon Johnson, and composed by his brother, John Rosamond Johnson in 1900.
What is Lift Every Voice and Sing?
Most Americans are not aware that Memorial Day was actually started by Black men and women in THIS southern harbor city; that shares a name with a popular 1920s dance.
What is Charleston, South Carolina?
Now a national historical site in Fourth Ward, THIS appropriately named town became the destination for formerly enslaved people from surrounding plantations in Texas and Louisiana, after the Civil War.
What is Freedman's town?
The sculptor Augusta Savage was an influential activist and arts educator. She was one of the leading artists during the 1920s cultural Renaissance centered in THIS New York City neighborhood. - 6 Letters.
What is "Harlem?"
(She began creating art as a child by using the natural clay found in her hometown of Florida)
An enslaved person and Civil War hero, HE escaped to freedom in a confederate supply ship and went on to become the first African American to captain a vessel in the U.S. Navy.
Who is Robert Smalls? (April 5, 1839 – February 23, 1915) (He served in both the South Carolina Legislature and U.S. House of Representatives)
THIS word used to refer to a person as arrogant or rude due to their social status, they may turn “up” their noses at others.
What is Uppity?
THIS battered snack was used by confederate soldiers to quiet their pets when union troops were near, and freedom seekers would use it to "shush" pursuing dogs.
What are Hush Puppies?
THIS legendary Jazz trumpeter got his start at Congo Square, New Orleans; a cultural landmark that historically allowed enslaved people to play instruments and worship for themselves on Sundays.
Who is Louie Armstrong?
SHE walked 1,360 miles, from Fort Worth, TX to Washington, D.C. (at the age of 89!) to gain attention for the legislation proposing to make Juneteenth an official national holiday.
Who is Opal Lee?
THIS is the oldest public park in Texas, established in 1872 by formerly enslaved people.
What is Emancipation Park?
A fusion of African & Irish American dance forms, THIS form of dance, originated in the U.S. in the early 19th century. The enslaved turned to this percussive dancing to express themselves and retain their cultural identities, after their instruments were taken from them. - 3 letters.
What is "Tap"?
The first Black sheriff elected throughout the United States, after emancipation, his former enslaver sold him several plots of land, making HIM one of the wealthiest and most influential freedmen in Fort Bend County, Texas.
Who is Walter Moses Burton? (1829–1913)
THIS phrase isn't a command while training your little horse, but a way to say you need to pay some money.
What is Pony Up?
THIS carbonated red fruit beverage is consumed on Juneteenth to honor all the blood that was lost among enslaved people, and pays homage to the sacrifices that led to the freedom African Americans have today.
What is Strawberry Soda?
THIS "mother of blues" got her start in Columbus, GA, and was recognized as the most influential in bridging the traditions of vaudeville and authentic Southern "Black Bottom" blues during the late 19th century.
Who is “Ma” Rainey?
(An openly bisexual African American woman, that was known for her throated voice and mesmerizing stage presence)
NATIONAL HOLIDAYS
It took THIS many years for Juneteenth to be recognized and declared, by law, as a national holiday.
NATIONAL HOLIDAYS
What is 156 years?