ALT A black and white photo of the band Keep Your Secrets.

ALT “What to the slave is the Fourth of July?” Frederick Douglass famously asked. This is why we in the Black community celebrate Juneteenth, commemorating June 19, 1865, when the Union Army enforced freeing enslaved people in rebelling states. But keep in mind, that didn’t even free all enslaved people throughout the nation. This country has a history of dragging its feet when it comes to “liberty and justice for all,” and we see it all too clearly today. This Juneteenth, we would like to draw attention to the connected struggles of oppressed and marginalized people across the globe.

ALT The Israeli state's genocide of the Palestinian people continues with no end in sight. The citizens of neighboring countries, too, face Israeli bombs supplied by the United States. Immigrants throughout the United States face persecution from the Trump regime, as masked, unmarked ICE brownshirts terrorize law-abiding communities which are integral contributors to American society. Everyday people bravely face authoritarian brutality from the LAPD and US military in Los Angeles for peacefully exercising their constitutionally-guaranteed First Amendment rights.

ALT The trans community, which currently faces over 700 proposed anti-trans bills across the 50 states, has been subjected to rapidly growing transphobia that threatens their safety everywhere they go. As Martin Luther King, Jr once said from a Birmingham jail, "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." It is not only morally imperative, but also in our collective best interest to stand up for those who cannot stand for themselves.