LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – The Justice League of Greater Lansing Michigan (JLGLM) has organized a Juneteenth event on Monday from noon to 1 pm on the steps of the Michigan Capitol in Lansing that will have White congregants of Greater Lansing faith communities and other White allies providing a public apology to descendants of enslaved African Americans.

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Juneteenth is a federal holiday that marks the day that Texas slaves learned of the 1863 signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. This happened when Union troops arrived in Galveston on June 19th to announce that more than 250,000 enslaved Black people in the state were free thanks to Abraham Lincoln. On Wednesday, June 14th, the Michigan legislature passed a bill to also make Juneteenth an official holiday in the state.

The non-profit organization JLGLM says that the apology is for the sin of slavery and its aftermath as well as the complicity in the belief of White supremacy that have led to today’s racism and great wealth divide.

JLGLM says that they exist to repair the breach caused by the historical damage of slavery and its aftermath. In the spirit of repentance for the sin of racism, they seek to build relationships and facilitate reparations between houses of worship and collaborative partners to increase wealth equity for African Americans in the Greater Lansing Area.

The featured presenters for the Lansing Juneteenth event will be Willye Bryan, founder of the Justice League of Greater Lansing Michigan and Rev. Stanley Jenkins, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Lansing. Also in attendance will be other members of the Justice League, representatives of sponsoring churches which have predominately White congregations and State Senator Democrat Sarah Anthony.

Bryan says, “Recognizing and apologizing for harm done by one’s forefathers and the collective complicity of White supremacy is integral in achieving reparations…An apology frees and liberates both groups. It frees White people from guilt. When you get rid of guilt, then you’re ready to work to improve society. For African Americans, it’s the acknowledgement that the wrong that was done was real, and now we can all benefit from moving ahead.”

The text of the apology was approved and issued by Presbyterian Church USA at its national General Assembly June 2022. It is titled “An Apology to African Americans for the Sin of Slavery and Its Aftermath, A Litany of Repentance.” An example of the verbiage is “We have walked away pretending not to see, yet we saw; pretending not to know, yet we knew.”

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This Juneteenth public apology follows an apology by congregants of 15 predominantly White churches in Lansing in January 2023. A video of the apology can be found on the home page of their website. The response was so “remarkable”, that Bryan wanted to make the experience available to a wider population within Greater Lansing and so she organized the Juneteenth event.

Rev. Stanley Jenkins of First Presbyterian Church of Lansing says, “I was struck by the responses from my colleagues in the audience, especially among the Black members, how moving it was. To realize my Black brothers and sisters and fellow clergy people have been waiting to hear this, brings it home in a different way. It’s a liberating thing to name the demon.”

Prince Solice, Justice League of Greater Lansing Michigan president says, “It was powerful that many predominantly White Lansing-area churches reached the consensus that a public apology was appropriate, necessary and overdue.”

Other churches involved in the Juneteenth event at the Capitol include: All Saints Episcopal Church, East Lansing; Edgewood United Church, East Lansing; First Presbyterian Church of Holt; First Presbyterian Church of Lansing; Grace Lutheran Church, Lansing; Red Cedar Friends Meeting, Lansing; Sycamore Creek Church, Lansing; Unitarian Universalist Church of Greater Lansing, Lansing and Unity Spiritual Center of Lansing.

The public is encouraged to attend and “join in the apology or receive an apology” depending on what race you are.