Program Description
Event Details
This special interactive Juneteenth program for children and families will be presented by Velda Goe of Fayeth Gardens during the Lunch at the Library program.
Using the African Griot tradition, where older people keep the stories and relate the teachings of good thought and action to children, Goe will talk about how Juneteenth came to be and what it means to be one of the people affected by it.
In the practice of the Griot, the Elders contemplate and share their experiences about the meaning of existence and of how the relationships between the earth, plants, animals, elements and everything in nature exhibit an intelligence that is perceptible and responsive to human endeavor.
Within all this, human life is also enfolded in the totality of the Universe. The attitude of a personal relationship with the spiritual and natural worlds includes agreements with the Spirits of Creation. Covenants established with land, water, plant-life, animals, etc., dictate how all life would co-exist in mutual protection, benefit, and continuity. This reciprocity is maintained through the various ceremonies, songs, narratives, and personal experiences, and is shared with the community through the Griot tradition, which not only informs the people of their roots and of their rights to their traditions, but also reminds them that the future is collectively negotiated.
Goe will use an interactive call-and-response format, and include traditional hand clapping which is sure to members of the audience engaged and having fun.
Velda Goe is the founder of Fayeth Gardens. It is a 20-acre venue in Calaveras County that has been hosting and supporting events and activities at its site and in Hayward that foster good stewardship of Earth, our environment, lifeforms great and small and the retention of ourselves, our cultures and our humanity, since 2014.