Dear Friends:

Last Friday was Juneteenth, the oldest known celebration marking the end of slavery.  I hope that you honored it by celebrating and/or learning something about it that you may not have known.  According to NBC (https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/9-things-know-about-history-juneteenth-n594546), Lincoln’s intention to end slavery was not about the moral ground that it was wrong.  Lincoln’s focus was to keep the Union together.  It reads like Lincoln was indifferent to slavery and yet he achieved an outcome that changed the course of history.  Juneteenth represents the day the delayed message reached Texas.  The newly freed slaves celebrated their freedom.  The ending of slavery is a celebration for all of us because whether you are black or white, many of us do not take pride in that dark time in our nation and shared history.  We can come together and celebrate that it ended.  It’s important to remember the history, as we are left with remnants of the evil structure.  And together, we must find a new way to dismantle it once and for all.

I invite you to view  this short exchange of 2 men and a young man – 45, 31 and 16. https://twitter.com/goldengateblond/status/1267161305565163520 .  It explains the long-standing pain and anger.  The passionate guidance passed on creates hope that the 16 year old  and his colleagues will find a new path to move us forward.  And while he and his generation are figuring it out, let’s keep chipping away at it. We owe them our best effort.

Dr. Lisa

PS: Our theme song is “Someday We’ll All Be Free” by Donny Hathaway.