Support Free Juneteenth Events in Washington

I'm Dan Henderson, Director of Washington for Justice. This June will be our community's fifth celebration of the Juneteenth Holiday. It is always a big event for our town, and we bring in outstanding Black Iowa artists, authors, speakers, musicians, and activists. Washington for Justice is always the sponsor, and our goal is to raise money to support these events so that they are completely free to the public. For the past four years, we have met our fundraising goal. This year, we decided to use GoFundMe as an option for people to donate.

Washington for Justice became a non-profit in 2024, so donations to the organization are tax-deductible. We have no overhead beyond the cost of the events themselves, so every dime that is donated goes to support community events. This year we are planning three days of Juneteenth Celebration events. Here is the rundown on what will be provided:

June 17 - "The Negro Artist" film documentary about the life and career of local spoken word performer, Caleb Rainey. Caleb has performed in Washington on two other occasions, and since then, Nik Heftman, who has media and film experience in Hollywood, produced a video about Caleb's amazing rise to national prominence as a spoken word artist, poet, and voice of his generation speaking to social justice issues. We will be showing the film at the Washington Public Library starting at 6:30 pm, and as a bonus, we will have a Zoom conversation with the film director Nik Heftman afterward. Here is the link to the official film trailer: https://youtu.be/WfK1SK2jVmc

June 19 (Juneteenth Day) - A two-part event will start at 1:00 in the afternoon at the Washington Public Library with children's author, Abena Sankofa Imhotep. She will be talking to children about the meaning of Juneteenth and read from her book "Omari's Big Tree and the Mighty Djembe." Then at 4:00 pm, there will be a Juneteenth Celebration featuring Abena, who is an award-winning author, scholar, and activist whose work celebrates Africana, challenges historical narratives, and advocates for a just world. As the CEO of Sankofa Literary & Empowerment Group, Abena’s mission is two-fold: to create spaces for lifelong learning that center the literature and scholarship of Black authors and to work toward a world where all children love to read. A dynamic orator who speaks with eloquence and clarity, Abena was selected to be the final commencement speaker at the historic Iowa Wesleyan University, led interdisciplinary think-tanks, and graced the TEDx stage. This Juneteenth program will also include a local choir singing the Black National Anthem, "Lift Every Voice and Sing."

June 20 - An Evening with Award-winning Musician, Dartanyan Brown. Dartanyan has been inducted into the Iowa Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame (2010), Jazz Hall of Fame (2007), and Blues Hall of Fame (2003). Throughout his career, Dartanyan has recorded and/or performed with an incredible variety of musicians, dancers, performance artists, and purveyors of new media. The list includes trumpeter Bill Chase, Attila Zoller, Suru Ekeh, Grover Washington, Jr., Mark Levine, Kenny Barron, Horace Arnold, Mike Vax, Larry Ridley, Clark Terry, Dick Oatts, Warren Gale, Alvin Batiste, Kent Jordan, Arnie Lawrence, Barry Finnerty, Frank Foster, and many others. In addition to his performing career, Dartanyan has provided guidance to hundreds of educators on how to integrate Jazz studies and music technology into the K-12 educational sphere. He continues to blend the arts, education, and entrepreneurial spirit into a new paradigm for how, when, and why we educate our children to their responsibilities to the community they inhabit. This concert will take place at the historic Mills Seed Company Building in Washington with doors opening at 6:30.

As you can see, we are working hard to bring some of the best icons of Black Iowa culture to Washington to share their talents and vision of a better world. It is the kind of community we hope to create in this part of the state.

I hope you will help us to make this happen by supporting these events. Please donate generously.