A Conservative Juneteenth Haggadah

USCJ Juneteenth 2022/5782 is a program run by and for Jewish Black Americans and those who wish to join in educational, informative, and commemorative celebration of the day that official news of the end of legal chattel slavery reached the last American state, Texas. This program centers on the voices of descendants of freed Texan slaves who are moving into sharing this deeply personal and formerly local celebration while also hearing from Black Americans whose personal celebration of Juneteenth is more recent.

As Jews, we have centuries of the yearly re-telling of the story of our freedom from enslavement and journey into peoplehood with the right to live, worship, and create families as we see fit. As Black Americans, celebrations of freedom from our enslavement often involve spiritual practice or ritual, and the celebration of Juneteenth that incorporates aspects reminiscent of the Passover Seder by Jewish Black Americans on individual or small community bases is not new. Bringing it into broader community spaces–even within Black Jewish communities and broader Jew of Color communities–is a newer phenomenon. This program endeavors to ensure the voices of those who made the transition from enslaved to free and the stories of their generations remain the central focus as this practice becomes more widespread and moves L’dor v’dor.