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Celebrating Freedom, Continuing the Fight

Wed, 06/17/2020 - 12:23
Durell Godfrey

Two more events this week will continue discussions of the civil rights narrative on the East End, a Juneteenth celebration in Southampton and a Black Lives Matter protest in Montauk. 

Friday morning at Agawam Park in Southampton the community will celebrate Juneteenth, which commemorates the day that the last enslaved African-Americans were freed in Texas in 1865, and which is also sometimes called Freedom Day or Jubilee Day. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Wednesday planned to sign an executive order "recognizing Juneteenth as a holiday for state employees," and said he would "advance legislation to make it an official state holiday next year."

The Agawam Park event will take place at 10 a.m. and will feature multiple speakers and refreshments. "Wear a mask, practice social distancing, bring lawn chairs," the announcement reads.

Also Friday, in Montauk, a peaceful Black Lives Matter protest and march is being organized by East End Against Hate, a group of local high school and college students. It is from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Hank Zebrowski Memorial Soccer Field on South Erie Street. "Masks are mandatory," the announcement says, adding that food and drinks will be provided.

Villages

Buddhist Monks on the Path to World Peace

Twenty or so monks from a monastery in Texas are making their way to Washington, D.C., on a mission of compassion, while locally a class on the Buddhist path to world peace will be held in Water Mill.

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‘ICE Out’ Vigils on Friday

Coordinated vigils for what organizers call victims of federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement will happen across the East End on Friday at 6 p.m. and in Riverhead on Saturday at 10 a.m., with local events scheduled in East Hampton Village and Sag Harbor.

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Item of the Week: The Reverend and the Accabonac Tribe

This photostat of a deposition taken on Oct. 18, 1667, from East Hampton’s first minister, Thomas James, is one of the earliest records we have of “Ackobuak,” or “Accabonac,” as a place name.

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