Very Rainy Juneteenth

We get told endlessly by the geniuses with Doppler radar that we're just about at the end of this endless cycle of rain, but it didn't stop in time for the start of Juneteenth. Above, Rose Harris Lytle, president of Colorado Springs NAACP, introduced Max Hale of Pastors for Peace. Below, 13-year-old Aarun Anderson gives us a history of the declaration of Juneteenth in Texas.



This was a young Juneteenth. Two more 13-year-olds were the backbone of the blues band that played all day long, Young Austin and No Difference:



Also, plenty of middle-school and high-school dancers in David's Generation:



Follow the link here to hear Blair Smith sing Beyonce's "Listen." And there were a few old folks with some talent, such as the gospel group Rev. Dennis Mose pulled together for the afternoon.

I made sure to pull off a quick interview with Brianna Frenchmore, who won the Pikes Peak Justice and Peace Commission's Peace Scholarship in 2009 for her work with PeaceJam:



The sun had almost come out by the time I started interviewing Brianna, and the Doppler-gangers swear to us that a sunny and warm trend will begin on Father's Day. Really. Seriously.

Rev. Lucius Walker of Pastors for Peace

Rev. Lucius Walker, executive director of Pastors for Peace, was in Colorado Springs Feb. 17-18 for a gumbo fund-raising party and a series of talks to promote the work of his organization, which arranges peace caravans to Cuba. He was kind enough to sit down with me for a brief chat at First Congregational Church about the work of Pastors for Peace. To contact the organization for donations of money or goods, write ifco@igc.org, or call 212-926-5757.