Some events unfold as if they're barely even happening, like a snail making its way across a planter - how slowly only becomes clear in full context; a snail’s pace is even more glacial when the snail is itty bitty, teeny tiny. Though up close, the pace of progress might appear just fine - only from afar does it become clear that something that should have been a no brainer, should have been accomplished long before, has languished too long.
And so, 155 years after legal emancipation of all, there is STILL work being done, still more to be done. Juneteenth marked only the beginning date. And the Black Lives Matter movement is only the latest incarnation of reformers trying to move the ball farther down the field.
The photos and video were compiled over the last couple of weeks, including on a rare very early morning foray into the park. We still have COVID in this city; I am not yet ready to join the crowds for any Juneteenth observances today. But two years ago I visited the African Burial Ground National Monument downtown for the first time, with its monument meant to evoke the Middle Passage - a compact site, but well designed.
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