We Celebrate Juneteenth:A Poetic Journey book release

PHILADELPHIA, June 10, 2023 – Local author, Namibia El, debuted her sophomore book at a special release party held in the SCOOP USA community room just in time for the Juneteenth holiday.
The book titled, “We Celebrate Juneteenth!: A Poetic Journey” is a collection of poems and pictures written and illustrated by Namibia El highlighting the history and significance of the Juneteenth holiday.
Juneteenth (short for “June Nineteenth”) marks the day when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to take control of the state and ensure that all enslaved people were freed. The troops’ arrival on June 19, 1865, was two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation and about two months after the end of the Civil War. Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. On June 17, 2021, it officially became a federal holiday.nwriting the book. El uses her books to share her appreciation for culture, diversity, and visual arts. She stated, “It is my hope that each of my books presents stories that capture the imagination and provides enriching information.”
Also in attendance was a special guest, long-time Community Activist/Social Change Advocate R. Mangaliso Davis. Ms. El surprised Davis with her book dedication. She dedicated her book, “We Celebrate Juneteenth!” to Mangaliso for establishing the first Juneteenth Celebration in her hometown of Camden, New Jersey, in the early 2000s and for being on the front lines of community-based efforts to improve the quality of life for Camden residents.
The Jersey-based author shared her reasoning behind choosing the Philadelphia locale to release her latest book, “I thought that it was very fitting to have the book release here in Philadelphia, the city where the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776, at a time when so many black people were still enslaved.” She also added, “It was also fitting to have the event here at SCOOP USA, our present-day Freedom newspaper.” El was referencing the first African American newspaper in the United States, Freedom’s Journal, which started in New York City as a weekly abolitionist publication in 1827.
Namibia El is also an English Language Arts teacher in Philadelphia, and a contributing freelance journalist for SCOOP USA. You can purchase her books online through Amazon [www.amazon.com/author/namibiael].