Celebrate Juneteenth With The Legacy Lives On Documentary

What do you know about Juneteenth?  On January 1, 1863 President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation that freed all slaves in the United States and overnight all people living in the US were free. Well…not exactly, but that’s what we’re taught in schools. The reality is that it took 2 more years before Texas and the Southern States got word of this because of the Civil War.

 

 

It was on June 19, 1865 that the abolition of slavery finally took place in Texas. Today the day is memorialized as Juneteenth and known as the day slavery ended in the United States. Despite being such an important day it isn’t a federal holiday and very little is done to memorialize the day outside of Texas. Most, but not all of the states recognize it as a state holiday, however that doesn’t give people the day off and this important day is all but unknown. This is a holiday we need today more than ever.

As racial tensions continue to rise Juneteenth gives us the opportunity to look at where we are now and look back in time to see what brought us to where we are today. It gives us the opportunity to look at the Civil War through the eyes of a group we rarely consider, those who were enslaved. We as a society haven’t yet dealt with the trauma that came from 4 million people being enslaved and the ongoing injustices that their descendants suffered and are still suffering today.

Black Americans also often face the impact of generations of wealth inequality and its effect on economic mobility for future generations.  Prudential in partnership Urban One will air its newly created a documentary LegacyLivesOn. It explores the economic challenges of black America through the lens of three determined women on the path to #financialwellness.

 

 

About the Documentary

Prudential and Urban One explore the rebirth of Black America by tapping into three Black epicenters; Detroit, Michigan, Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Atlanta, Georgia through the lives of three women in different phases of their own financial well-being. Although their journeys are uniquely individualistic, each woman is learning about the importance of having honest conversations about what legacy looks like in their lives. Residing in these Black meccas, which have been credited for cultivating economic movements such as Black Wall Street and Black Bottom, these women are living examples of what it means to reimagine history. The stories that unfold and the images captured are profound, because they are truthful conversations about financial wellness and how one can define legacy. 

 

 

 

While the recognition of Juneteenth may be afar off, through partnerships with the dfree® Financial Freedom Movement and Urban One, the makers of the documentary Legacy Lives On, Prudential is helping black Americans build lasting legacies of financial wellness and generational wealth. In our research, we identified four barriers to financial wellness, and offer solutions for tackling them.

  1. Start a Financial Plan
  2. Don’t Let Debt Hold You Back
  3. Take Care of Family and Yourself
  4. Protect Your Loved Ones and Your Legacy

 

Learning more about Juneteenth

You won’t hear about it being taught in any schools though they offer the perfect opportunity to open the dialog and make the changes our country so desperately needs. Instead, we are teaching our children a half-truth that makes former slave owners look good. A denial of the truth that continues the cycle of trauma generation after generation. Until Juneteenth is officially recognized and taught in schools how can we as a nation possibly hope to heal from the deep wounds of slavery that still exist to this day?

Perhaps, with time, Juneteenth will be more widely celebrated and we can finally start the healing process.  In the meantime, as a partner of Prudential, I invite you to join us and Urban One tonight for the broadcast premier of Legacy Lives On, a 45-minute documentary focused on the legacy of money in the black community. Beyond just viewing, we invite you to get social with us by sharing your thoughts using the hashtag #LegacyLivesOn.  Legacy Lives On premieres at 9 p.m. ET, Wednesday, June 19 on TV One and will be re-broadcast on June 20 on CLEO TV. The documentary will also be made available online via Madame Noire and News One.

We need it, not just for ourselves but for future generations. But the only way to make it happen is to support the events that are already taking place and make new ones of our own. How will you celebrate Juneteenth this year?

 

[latoyia]

 

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2 Comments

  1. This is really interesting! I would love to know more about Juneteenth. Thanks for sharing.

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