Lecture Series
“Juneteenth: The Culture and Politics behind Freedom Days in the United States, 1750-1900”
Presented by: Chloe Celeste Porche
Not until 2021 did the United States federally recognize Juneteenth as a national holiday to celebrate the emancipation of enslaved African-Americans. But what is Juneteenth? When did it start? Who celebrates it? Who should celebrate it? Juneteenth has a surprisingly complex and rich history, with cultural origins tracing back to the burgeoning public display of Black political aspirations in the Revolutionary Era, to the proliferation of “freedom days” marking the process of emancipation in the late-nineteenth century. Juneteenth’s political genealogy serves as a key to better understanding American political culture and ideology. By contextualizing Juneteenth, this talk will delineate the evolution and meanings of this distinctly American celebration.
Meet the Speaker
Chloe Celeste Porche is a PhD candidate studying nineteenth-century Black activism. Her dissertation surveys African-American women activists and considers how they used the memory of their enslavement and emancipation to energize their political activism. Originally from southern California, Chloe graduated from California State University, Northridge in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in history. After which she worked for three-years at Moorpark Community College in the Teaching and Learning Center. She has lived abroad twice— studying the German language in Lüneburg, Germany for a year and later, spending a year teaching kindergarten through 12th grade in Yangsan, South Korea.
