Juneteenth in Jax
Good morning, I hope you've had some time to reflect on Juneteenth this past weekend and today.
Spoiler: the Times-Union newsroom is closed today in observance of the now federally and locally recognized holiday, so I wrote this edition on Friday.
Here's your digest for the week.
Florida's version of Juneteenth is recognized among freedom celebrations
For nearly 100 years, Black communities throughout the country celebrated Juneteenth, long before it became an official federal holiday last year. Yet, at the same time, not enough people in any culture understand the significance of June 19.
It’s the traditional date commemorating the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States, also known as Freedom Day or Jubilee Day. Unlike the way news travels today at the push of a button with social media, news of the end of slavery didn’t reach certain areas of the United States for more than two years.
While Juneteenth is not a legal state holiday in Florida, City Council members in Jacksonville voted last year to make Juneteenth a paid holiday in 2022 for city workers. It’s a step in the right direction, and it’s picking up support from some businesses.
Several organizations throughout Jacksonville hosted or are still hosting celebrations. The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Foundation is hosting a three-day event that began Saturday. Now in its 10th year, scheduled activities include the second Miss Juneteenth Scholarship Pageant; The Freedom Walk Parade; Juneteenth at the Ritz, the Juneteenth BBQ Cookoff; and Juneteenth Jazz at the Park.
Read Times-Union reporter Marcia Pledger's full story here
DeSantis reverses, allowing Florida healthcare providers to order vaccines for kids
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will now allow healthcare providers — including pediatricians and children’s hospitals — to order COVID-19 vaccines from a federal program for young children ages 6 months through 5-years-old despite initially saying no (as first reported by McClatchy).
The initial decision left pediatricians and children’s hospitals scrambling to figure out how to deal with a potential delay in getting COVID-19 vaccines for young children after Florida became the only state to not pre-order supply.
Every state except Florida put in an order for young children's doses from the federal government by the Tuesday deadline in anticipation of regulators authorizing use of the vaccines for children under 5 years old, a decision that came DeSantis.
An expert panel earlier this week unanimously found Moderna's vaccine safe for children 6 months to 6 years old for providing protection against the virus. The committee voted to support a Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children ages 6 months to 5 years.
Jacksonville National Guard member's viral TikTok says military downplayed her reported rape
CW: This story, which was phenomenally reported on by First Coast News' Anne Schindler, discusses sexual assault
A viral video by an Air National Guard member based in Jacksonville is causing ripples all the way to Washington, D.C.
In the TikTok video, Staff Sgt. Kacie Suchanek begins, "Today marks eight months since I've been raped."
Since it was posted Sunday night, it has already been viewed more than 400,000 times.
"It was a scary thing to post, it was a scary thing to subject myself to," she said. "But it was something that had to be done."
Suchanek made the video because despite the December arrest of a fellow guardsman on two charges of sexual battery, the State Attorney’s Office has yet to formally charge him. Suchanek said instead of felony rape charges, prosecutors are suggesting bringing a misdemeanor charge of simple battery.
UNF digs deeper on Jacksonville's Big Talbot Island to reveal possible centerpiece of Mocama village
University of North Florida archaeology students participated in a dig last week for an ongoing Mocama Archaeological Project that focuses on the Timucua-speaking people who lived along the Atlantic coast of Northern Florida.
The site is deep in the woods at Big Talbot Island State Park in Duval County's far north coastline, access only via a winding path through palmettos.
Times-Union reporter Dan Scanlan tagged along as students unearthed artifacts including a piece of majolica pottery, one side glazed blue and white. Its discovery in the dig site means it may have been given or traded to a member of the Mocama tribe who flourished in this area from the 1400s to early 1600s. Even more important, it was unearthed in what appears to be a 50- to 60-foot-diameter community council house in what is believed to be the Mocama village of Sarabay.
Read more about the important dig
Looking for sources...
I'm working on a number of pieces this summer that focus on the University of North Florida. I'm looking for a mix of students, faculty and alumni across the years to speak with. In particular, I'd love to speak with alumni from some of the school's earliest years. If that's you or you know someone who would be a good fit, please contact me!
—Emily Bloch, youth culture and education reporter
Emily Bloch is a youth culture and education reporter for The Florida Times-Union. Follow her on Twitter or email her. Sign up for her newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Juneteenth in Jax
