Sage celebrates Juneteenth

Juneteenth, which, celebrates the news of emancipation reaching the last pocket of enslaved Black Americans after the end of the Civil War, has been marked every year since 1866 in Galveston, Texas—but only became a federal holiday in the United States in 2021. That was one of the facts shared at our Thousand Oaks office on June 21, 2022, for the first official Juneteenth celebration, sponsored by Sage's U.S. Culture Collective and the People of Color + Allies for Cultural Change Employee Resource Group. 

With Sage's own Craig Moniz (he/him) and Angelia Bedford Walter (she/her) cohosting, political scientist Ayo Sekai, the CEO, owner, and publisher of Universal Write Publications (UWP), addressed the lasting legacy of Juneteenth and how her company, with Sage’s help, gives agency to Black scholars to tell their own stories by publishing African and Black-centered titles. 

Ayo was introduced by Sage CEO Blaise Simqu (he/him) ), who has taken the lead in building the connection brokered by Molefi Kete Asante, a Sage author and the father of Afrocentrism. The celebration concluded with a lunch provided by Suela’s Soul Food and line dancing led by Thelma Landry.