A DAY of REMEMBRANCE Juneteenth (June 19th) is the day that marks the end of slavery in the United States and is considered the longest-running African American Holiday. The slaves were freed when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1865 to take control of the state and declared all enslaved people were free. Although Confederate General Robert E. Lee had surrendered two months earlier in Virginia, slavery remained relatively unaffected in Texas. The people were free, but had no idea until U.S. General Gordon Granger stood on Texas soil and declared all slaves are free. REMEMBER: Every summer as the month of June approaches, circle June 19th and celebrate the day that African Americans were declared free people. Approximately 250,000 thousand people were freed over time as some enslavers withheld the information until harvest season was complete. Slavery in America was formally abolished with passage of the 13th amendment in December, 1865. Each year going forward, celebrate and remember Juneteenth as a day of freedom and a call to stand in solidarity as one human family.

The Catholic Racial Justice Collaborative is a multiracial group of religious and lay Catholic leaders from parishes and organizations across the Archdiocese of St. Louis. The collaborative formed in September 2017, just before St. Louis police officer Jason Stockley was acquitted of the charge of first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Anthony Lamar Smith. In anticipation of that controversial verdict and the racial tensions surrounding it, members of the collaborative drafted a statement calling upon Catholics to wrestle with the difficult realities of racism in our faith community and the broader society. Since its founding, the Catholic Racial Justice Collaborative has identified key initiatives to raise awareness of racial inequity and work toward just solutions; it meets monthly to further those efforts. We seek to be a Catholic voice encouraging our faith communities to challenge and own the history of racism in our Church and community, to engage in the difficult conversation around race, and to participate in action for racial justice in the wider community. Our collaborative recognizes that it is our spiritual duty to combat the sin of personal and institutional racism.

Visit www.catholicracialjusticestl.org for more information on Juneteenth and a list of resources and celebrations.

Ministry leaders here at Christ, Prince of Peace, with the help of the Peace and Justice Commission of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, are prepared to lead this faith community into a deeper understanding of the topic racism and social justice, why it’s so important to have the conversation, and how we, as Catholics, can and should respond to it. 

“Decent housing is a basic human right— deserved by all due to their dignity as being created in God’s
image. Without decent, safe, and affordable housing, all aspects of family life suffer, and a life of dignity
is impossible. Yet an affordable housing crisis is a current reality in the U.S. and, for minorities, it has
been a reality throughout the nation’s history.”- Open Wide Our Hearts, Pastoral Letter on Racism,
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, November 2018.

This presentation will begin with a review of the past public policies that mandated discriminatory and
segregated housing. Next, we will consider how the ongoing impact of these policies has led to
inequities in areas such as wealth, health, education, and employment. Finally, we will learn about
current programs that are working to remedy the effects of housing inequity.

Following the presentation, we will have Q & A with the presenters.
RSVP HERE
Zoom Link Below:
us02web.zoom.us/j/88182316644

• Jeff Schulenberg of the Archdiocesan Racial Harmony Committee & Sacred Heart Valley Park Social Justice Ministry
• Cristina Garmendia of URBNRX, designer of the City of St. Louis' Equity Indicators & author of the Baseline Report
• Annie Purcell, Outreach and Volunteer Coordinator @ St. Joseph Housing Initiative

Our learning and conversations are being guided by the topics from the United States
Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) listed below. We will host parish events to explore
these topics, list additional related resources on this web page, and share information about
other social justice opportunities here and in the parish bulletin.

Click on the topic for a brief introduction. We will add related videos, podcasts, articles and
books for each topic.