Still shots from the dynamic Juneteenth Celebration on Monday, June 20th
Latham Centers’ Juneteenth Committee hosted a powerful and dynamic virtual program for over 70 people last week. From our Brewster campus to places across the country, our greater Latham community joined the hour-long event featuring spoken word from talented artists and a performance by ShySpeaks.
Participants included our Latham staff and families, program participants from our Children’s and Adult Services Programs, leaders and participants from some of the Cape Cod Disability Network organizations, professors from Texas, and friends from near and far. To begin the June 20th program, Monique Williams (Latham’s Director of Health and Wellness and Juneteenth Committee member) said:
“This year marks 157 years since the historical celebration. Juneteenth persevered and celebrating became an act of resistance and a show of strength. It is a day of remembrance and celebration of when ALL Americans became free.
We the people can make this country better for all of us when we unite in our demands for improvement and change. Our collective actions have the power to change policies and shift cultural norms. Today, I thank the Latham community and friends, as we continue to develop change as we honor and celebrate this day of freedom.”
Attendees heard poems from artists GNO, Reign, and King Shakur – some of these masterpieces can be seen and heard in our video (below, also shared on our social media after the celebration). ShySpeaks joined us via video, and the hip-hop and spoken word artist moved and inspired us all. As ShySpeaks said, “I got the wings, we got the Wings.” Let’s use those wings, fly, and create positive changes in 2022.
Latham Centers thanks everyone for attending and helping amplify the culture of awareness at Latham and in our communities. We are incredibly grateful to the artists as well as our Juneteenth Committee Members – Patrice Carroll, Arthur Gregg, Brittni Kliment, Katrina Kozak, Bonnie White, and Monique Williams – for this exceptional Juneteenth program.
