| Gordon Wallace Collection |
| Wallace, Gordon |
| 2020-06-19 |
| Word Document (DOCX); access copy (PDF) |
| This collection is presented for personal use and may not be used in publications or redistributed without the creator's permission. Items in this collection may not be used for any commercial purpose without the express written permission from artist, Gordon Wallace, or other copyright holders as indicated. |
| Contact the Department of Special Collections for location. |
Text of Gordon Wallace's "Juneteenth" speech.
Date: 2020/06/19.
Location: Presented at Fountain Park, High Street, Chestertown MD.
Description: Transcript of Gordon Wallace's Juneteenth speech. Juneteenth is a holiday commemorating the arrival of federal troops carrying the message of the freedom to enslaved people in Texas. (Juneteenth was not yet a U.S. national holiday at the time of this event.) Wallace touches on themes of liberty, systemic inequality, and the education system in America.
Artist caption: "The event was put together by The Black Union of Chestertown. I was asked to speak at this event about a week before. I agreed and wrote my speech. I spoke in front of 100 -150 people in fountain park. The most interesting part of this speech in my opinion is I wrote the first paragraph on February 2nd, 2020 before the George Floyd killing. The reason I started writing that day was because I was sad and self-reflecting on being a black man in America."
Keywords: BLM, Racial justice, Juneteenth, Speech |
