THIS IS A DRAFT, PLEASE PLEASE HELP EDIT.
Subject Line: Juneteenth
On June 19, 1865, news of emancipation and the Civil War’s end reached enslaved people in Texas, some 2.5 years after the Emancipation Proclamation. We now remember June 19 as Juneteenth, and it is a reminder of the slave history and present reality of America. We must continue to break the bonds and legacy of slavery that still exist through patriarchy, police, prisons, borders, and capital. Freedom must not be fractured. [a]
We have so much work to do to continue dismantling what slavery and capitalism created in this country. Today Bandcamp and various record labels are donating their profits from digital sales. We again urge our members to support Black musicians today and everyday, and to consider giving profits from their own music on Juneteenth to support reparations, families affected by police and white supremacy, and BIPOC organizations, such as Black Quantum Futurism, As They Lay, and Black musicians on Bandcamp.
Anti-blackness is at the core of the inequality that UMAW seeks to fight in the music industry and beyond. For instance, one of our central COVID demands is to save the post office, which is important because it's a necessary resource for musicians, and because it is a huge employer of Black workers.
We must recognize that all genres of modern music were created by Black artists. For example, every rock artist in this group owes their career to musicians like Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Little Richard.[b]
We don’t just want a symbolic message, we want to push power for real reparations for Black musicians that our work would be nothing without. Juneteenth is a reminder of how no one will give people freedom: we must demand it.
We also want to invite you to a new member meeting happening at 3pm on Sunday, June 28th. It is open to all music workers. Register here.
We want to introduce ourselves, answer your questions, share what inspires UMAW, and we really want to hear about issues you want a music workers union to take on, and what you are currently working on in your communities. What do you need as music workers? What’s your workplace like and how do you want it to change? What kinds of actions are you and your friends taking to abolish the police? How can we use our cultural power as music workers to dismantle capitalism and build a future where everyone has everything they need
We are already taking on issues such as COVID unemployment relief, streaming payouts, venue practices, and the expulsion of police unions from labor organizations. But it does not stop there. We want to hear what you would like a collective voice of music workers to demand.
Again, here’s the link to register for our meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYsf-iurTwuHdY8QT6WSRHGPxKkwKC65cAE
One of our members, Kara, will be reaching out to all attendees with a survey and some follow up about what to expect but we’re really excited to have you join us!
Sources:
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/juneteenth-2020-opal-lee_n_5eeb6e01c5b68d07296afdf4?4wp