“Reclaiming Juneteenth through arts and land justice”
Here’s the jam on the slam:
DiDi Delgado and #DoneForDiDi are hosting a poetry slam on Saturday, June 18, 2022, at Nubian Gallery in celebration of Juneteenth – a day that commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African-Americans in the US. The free event is supported by a grant from the Boston Cultural Council, administered by the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture, as part of Reopen Creative Boston.
The poets and judges represent Black poetry and slam culture–in Boston, across the country, and around the world. This hybrid event will also be livestreamed so poets and audience members can participate from wherever they are. Food and drink will be available for folks joining in person.
The Juneteenth Slam will celebrate Black futures and raise awareness of DiDi Delgado’s radical and urgent vision “40 Acres and a School” – building a Black Liberation epicenter on the colonized lands of New England.
“40 Acres and a School, a project of Done For DiDi Inc., will host a community farm with growing food and healing medicine where dollars and land will go directly to Black folks.” Delgado said. “This property will offer spaces for retreat, ritual and rest for activists on the frontlines of Black liberation. We will build connection and practice liberation – working out justice in real terms.”.
“40 Acres and a School, along with all the work that I do, prioritizes Black Marginalized Genders, movement-builders, artists, educators, visionaries, healers, and communities,” Delgado said.
“Juneteenth is a celebration of Black liberation, of Black futures, of Black self-determination and sustainability, but you wouldn’t know that because reparations are long past due, and can’t be fixed simply by observance of a national holiday. 40 Acres and a School is about food justice, healing justice, land justice, transformative justice – this is medicine. We have to speak it into existence through our poetry, and that’s what we’ll be doing at the Juneteenth Slam event.”
You can register to perform at the Juneteenth Slam here, register to attend here, and find out more about The 40 Acres and a School project at thedididelgado.com/40acres
Dig Staff means this article was a collaborative effort. Teamwork, as we like to call it.