Redtree Times

Riding Rhythm– Now at the Principle Gallery

Know whence you came. If you know whence you came, there is really no limit to where you can go.

— James Baldwin, My Dungeon Shook / A Letter to My Nephew, 1962

Juneteenth Day. Though the Emancipation Proclamation officially went into law on January 1, 1863, it took the advance of the Union troops into the furthest reaches of the Confederate South to enforce and put it into effect. At Galveston, Texas, on June 19th,1865, two and a half years after the Proclamation, Union Major General Gordon Granger proclaimed freedom for the enslaved people of Texas. This was the origin of the holiday.

As we all know, it has not been easy sailing in the intervening 150-some years. But it is our history and as James Baldwin points out above, you can’t make progress without knowing where you have been. Knowing one’s history, no matter how painful it might be, is the route to freedom. And nobody is free unless all are free.

Here’s to greater progress for our collective future.

Below, is a recording of the letter, My Dungeon Shook, that James Baldwin wrote to his young nephew in late 1962. It is a remarkable letter. The last three paragraphs are powerful and on the nose, speaking to the underlying reasons for the current spate of racism that infects this country. You can listen but if you would rather read it, you can do so via a PDF at this link.

Near the end of the letter, Baldwin quotes a line from an old gospel song, Free At Last:

The very time I thought I was lost, my dungeon shook and my chains fell off

I am also including a version of that song from Sam Cooke and the Soul Stirrers. I don’t believe they use this great line in their iteration of the song but hey, it’s Sam Cooke and that’s more than good enough for me.