In June, Virginia Interfaith Power & Light (VAIPL) will be bringing back our Juneteenth series to the Environmental Justice Now! Show. This series will be livestreamed each Friday in June and end on the 1st of July. VAIPL will examine how the environment has historically been exploited and the continued impediments to thriving for Black communities.

Juneteenth, June 19, 1865, was the day word finally reached Galveston, Texas, home of the most remote enslaved people in the U.S., nearly two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation that slavery was ending.. Although slavery wasn’t legally abolished until December 1865, Juneteenth has become a day to celebrate the end of slavery in the U.S.

This week, we will start the conversation and focus on how environmental justice is the key to creating a just world where we can all live and thrive. Our voting rights, the energy we use to power our homes, the water we drink, and the land where we live can often be tied to racial inequity. Please mark your calendars and join VAIPL for the targeted episodes of our live show, Environmental Justice Now!, in honor of Juneteenth and the ongoing struggle to enjoy full freedom.