Celebrating Juneteenth and Continuing the Fight for Liberation

Today the National Black Women’s Justice Institute celebrates the emancipation of Black people in the United States. Without a doubt, we are our ancestors’ wildest dreams.

But the work is not done. We must continue our struggle for liberation by dismantling the social, political, and economic constraints that deny us access to safety and wellbeing.

NBWJI is steadfast in our commitment to the liberation of Black people in the United States, especially Black women and girls who are directly impacted by the criminal and juvenile legal systems.

The systemic criminalization and punishment of Black women and girls is not a recent phenomenon. Policing and incarceration have been used as tools to marginalize and harm us dating back to Emancipation.

For as long as the carceral system has existed in the United States, Black women and girls have been subjected to state violence as a way to exert dominance over us and control our bodies, our sexuality, and limit our opportunities to achieve economic independence and wealth.

We must continue our work to dismantle this racist and patriarchal system, and build, in its place, pathways to opportunity and healing so that directly impacted Black women and girls can live out their wildest dreams.

At NBWJI, we envision a society that respects, values, and honors the humanity of Black women and girls, takes accountability for the harm it has inflicted, and recognizes that real justice is healing.

Today, celebrating Juneteenth, we are reminded of how far we’ve come, and that there is so much work ahead, as we continue our fight for the liberation of Black women and girls.