As the St. Louis community rings in a new year, is important to honor another significance of the day for the African American community. Celebrated on January 1, Jubilee Day is Independence Day for African Americans, commemorating Jan. 1, 1863, when President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, the document that freed the slaves.

“It is our Declaration of Independence,” said Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., executive director of the NAACP. “The one done up in 1776 didn’t have our name on it,” he said.

National scholars, Dr. James Tucker and Dr. Reynaldo Anderson are available for interviews to discuss the significance of this day and the importance of heightened awareness of the history of African Americans in America.

ABOUT DR TUCKER
St. Louisan Dr James Tucker serves as the President of the International Board of Directors for Africans Rising Together 2063 and a member of the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation Board of Directors. He has been integrally involved in helping make Juneteenth a recognized holiday nationally and in specific states. He was a National Delegate for Barack Obama in Denver, Colorado and has served as NAACP State Council President in Colorado.

ABOUT DR ANDERSON
Former Associate Professor of Communication and Chair of the Humanities department at Harris-Stowe State University in St. Louis, Dr. Reynaldo Anderson currently serves as the Graduate Director and Associate Professor of Africology and African American Studies at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Reynaldo is currently the Executive Director and co-founder of the Black Speculative Arts Movement (BSAM), an international network of artists, intellectuals, creatives, and activists. He is the co-editor of numerous anthologies and journals.

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Rachel Brown
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