Today, June 19th, or Juneteenth marks the the day (June 19, 1865) when news of emancipation reached people in the deepest parts of the former Confederacy in Galveston, Texas. In commemoration, a lovely poem by Langston Hughes:

Dream Variation

Langston Hughes

To fling my arms wide
In some place of the sun,
To whirl and to dance
Till the white day is done.
Then rest at cool evening
Beneath a tall tree
While night comes on gently,
Dark like me —
That is my dream!
To fling my arms wide
In the face of the sun,
Dance! Whirl! Whirl!
Till the quick day is done.
Rest at the pale evening…
A tall, slim tree…
Night coming tenderly
Black like me.

And now, inspired by these moving words, let’s all write on!