The Weekender: June 18 to 21
If you can’t be with your dad this Father’s Day, show him how much he means with a letter or longer-than-normal phone call. In other words, don’t just text. Photo by fizkes/iStock
The weekend is upon us yet again, and with it comes two important holidays: Juneteenth on Friday and Father’s Day on Sunday. Our recommendations this week are tailored to these two meaningful celebrations.
Juneteenth commemorates the eradication of slavery in the United States. On June 19, 1865, Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Tex., to announce the end of the Civil War, thus freeing the slaves of the Confederacy. Note that this watershed moment occurred two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation took effect.
Father’s Day is a chance to celebrate father figures in your life, even if you can’t physically be together.
What to Read
With conversations about racial injustice dominating the national dialogue, and two significant holidays this weekend, few literary works are more relevant than author and journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates’ award-winning book, Between the World and Me, a powerful reflection on the experience of being a Black man in America. Written as a letter to his teenage son, Coates tackles centuries-old questions about systemic racism in a profoundly intimate manner. Between the World and Me is available in hardcover and for Kindle on Amazon. Coates, a longtime correspondent at The Atlantic, also published an adapted excerpt of his book in the magazine.
What to Cook for Dad (or for Yourself)
Does it get any better than family and food? This weekend, we recommend this superfast but delicious tomato pesto salmon recipe for dinner on Father’s Day. Even if you’re not able to be with your father this weekend, you should still make it.
What to Watch
Just Mercy is a 2019 legal drama that tells the true story of defense attorney and activist Bryan Stevenson (Michael B. Jordan), who creates the Equal Justice Initiative to provide legal representation to prisoners who were denied a fair trial. Stevenson meets Walter McMillian (Jamie Foxx), a Black man on death row who was convicted of murder in a compromised trial, and takes on his case. The film won multiple awards from the African-American Film Critics Association, the NAACP Image Awards, and others, and is available to stream for free on several digital platforms throughout the month of June.
How to Celebrate Dad
While many states are beginning to reopen, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to present health and safety concerns, especially regarding travel. If you’re unable to be with your family this Father’s Day, there are still many meaningful ways to spend time together, even if it has to be over Zoom or FaceTime. We recommend taking time to write your father a letter, asking questions, or telling stories. Do you know how your parents met? What your dad’s first job was? His experience on the day you were born? Just ask.
How to Learn More about Juneteenth
If you would like to learn more about Juneteenth, we recommend checking out the National Museum of African American History and Culture’s virtual programming on Friday and Saturday. The museum is holding free online events featuring music, workshops, presentations, recipes, and more. No registration is required.
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