It’s June and here is your printable Convivio Book of Days calendar for the month. For this month of solstice and midsummer night’s dreaming and several saints’ days and Father’s Day and Bloomsday, we’ve opted to focus on Juneteenth, with a picture of a mural in Washington, DC, that was painted for Juneteenth in 2020. It’s a quote from Martin Luther King, Jr.: We must live together as brothers, or perish together as fools.
My hunch is the mural is no longer there. But if I’m wrong, please do let me know. The mural was on the Miller & Chevalier Building on what was then called Black Lives Matter Plaza. The two-block long street mural with the huge yellow letters is gone, of course; it was removed a little over a year ago.
In 2021, a year after this mural was painted, Juneteenth became a federal national holiday. Opal Lee, a woman born just a few days after my own mother (both Ms. Lee and my mom will be 100 years old this October), fought hard most all her life to get Juneteenth, once little known outside of Texas, recognized as a federal holiday. I remember being shocked when I heard the news. I have been shocked in different ways in the past year and a half, and find myself feeling that way far more often than I like.
I don’t know how Ms. Opal Lee feels about the state of the country as she approaches her 100th birthday this year, but she knows, better than anyone, I’m sure, how the road that brought the respect of Juneteenth to us was never an easy one. Sadly, we’ve had progress toward respect for all, and then it’s been walked back. Our history is a troubled one, and healing and respect are not part of the current plan, it would seem. With Juneteenth, though, we get another shot at making things right.
SHOP HAPPENINGS
The shop will be open this Sunday, June 7, from 11 AM to 4 PM, during our next workshop: I’ll be teaching a Case Bound Journal bookbinding workshop that day, and there are currently 2 seats left (perhaps you and a friend should sign up!). Our next Convivio Cookery workshop is my favorite pasta, Mambricoli, the following Saturday, June 13 (5 seats left). And we’re making plans for our Midsummer Solstice Market… it’s planned for Friday June 19 through Sunday June 21. We’ll have some good Midsummer Magic in store for you!
We also have a Juneteenth card in stock!