Juneteenth: A Celebration of the Art of Freedom

At ABFM, when we speak of health equity, we are committed to a more focused discussion about how we can contribute to balancing the scales of health outcomes for those who exist in the social ecology in which we live and serve as family physicians.

As a certifying board, we view our contributions to improving the health equity ecology as an essential part of the work we do. Our aim is to have a part in education.

On August 10, 1863, Frederick Douglass arrived unannounced to the White House seeking a conversation with President Abraham Lincoln. He had journeyed there to discuss the Emancipation Proclamation – signed by the President earlier that year on the first day of January. To his surprise, Douglass was selected from among the crowded waiting room full of visitors seeking an audience with the President. As he entered, Douglass took note of the groaning weight of the war preoccupying the President’s thoughts. “Mr. Lincoln rose and extended his hand, and bade me welcome,” wrote Douglass. “I at once felt myself in the presence of an honest man – one whom I could love, honor, and trust without reserve or doubt.” The meeting of these two historic icons resulted in a discussion about the terms necessary to recruit and compensate Black troops for the war effort.

“What can the human spirit create when it is given freedom to be the inconsolable creator, an imaginator of the impossible, the boundless artist of life?”

Dr. Gary LeRoy

In the aftermath of the war, Paul Laurence Dunbar was born during the Reconstruction Era in Dayton, Ohio [my hometown], to formerly enslaved parents. His father [Joshua Dunbar] fought in the Civil War as a soldier for the Union army. As his literary prominence grew, Dunbar became nationally recognized as “the poet laureate of his race.” When he was invited to share one of his poems for the dedication of the Haitian Pavilion at the World’s Columbian Exposition [also known as the Chicago World’s Fair, celebrating the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ arrival in the New World in 1492] held in Chicago during 1893, the young poet was scheduled on the program to appear immediately after his admired mentor, Frederick Douglass. He sat on stage as Douglass concluded a speech, titled “The Race Problem in America.” Dunbar would follow the admired orator with a poem Dunbar had written to commemorate the Black people who fought and died in the nation’s Civil War decades prior. Six years later, in 1899, Dunbar would author a poem entitled Sympathy.

Here are a few verses:

“I know what the caged bird feels, alas! When the sun is bright on the upland slopes; When the wind stirs soft through the springing grass, and the river flows like a stream of glass; …

I know why the caged bird sings, ah me, When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore, – When he beats his bars and he would be free; It is not a carol of joy of glee, But a prayer that he sends from his heart’s deep core, But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings – I know why the caged bird sings!”

Sixty years hence, the poem’s retort would inspire the 1969 book entitled “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” by civil rights activist and author Maya Angelou. In her book, she chronicled her own personal struggles against societal prejudice. Caged in a world where future ambitions were held down by the invisible gravity of social constraints or visible preconceived notions, Angelou sought to “rise up” to her full personal and artistic potential. The arc of human history connects these historic figures – Lincoln, Douglass, Dunbar, and Angelou. Using the trope of the “caged bird,” each in their own way were seeking freedom.

The caged bird sings for freedom. This freedom song is a plea for the liberty to openly express what has been held captive in the human soul. Authentic artistic expression existed among those who were once enslaved; but once emancipated, raised to give birth to future generations of artists and forms of artistic expression. The freedom to express oneself artistically is one of many attributes we celebrate in the wake of the first Juneteenth gathering.

In 2023, ABFM enshrined its annual celebration of Juneteenth. On June 19 of our inaugural celebration, I had the honor of sharing the history The North Star of Awareness of why the holiday was given the name “Juneteenth.” I reflected on how the news of Lincoln’s January 1, 1863, Emancipation Proclamation did not reach the shores of Galveston, Texas, until June 19, 1865 – long after the Civil War had ended. The joyous echoes of freedom from those who had once been enslaved resonated through generations to spread across the nation, until it eventually become a recognized U.S. federal holiday on June 19, 2021.

Last year our focus was on African American history in Lexington. We had the honor of having a representative from the Lexington Historical Society present to speak about the numerous African American historic sites and cultural treasures available to visit in the Greater Lexington area. This year our theme will be: Celebrating the Art of Freedom.

From the shores of Galveston grew generations of artists, orators, singers, dancers, poets, musicians, entertainers, and more. Through the ensuing decades, the search for freedom has been an inspiration for the essential human senses to create tangible realities from dreams once thought unimaginable.

Family physician and ABFM Senior Vice President of Diplomate Experience, Dr. LeRoy has been with ABFM since November 2022. Dr. LeRoy has been leading efforts to improve Diplomate experience with board certification, engagement with Diplomates and collaborating organizations, while overseeing communications, outreach, and professionalism.

In addition to being recognized for numerous leadership awards in the medical community for the past 30 years, he is also an award-winning book author with a passion for continued learning and teaching. Juneteenth is very special to Dr. LeRoy. He has championed ABFM efforts to help educate staff about the significance of Juneteenth by leading our annual staff celebration and authoring a special article each year.