Free Indeed: Dancing in the Light of Juneteenth and Pride

Friday, June 19, 2026

The Rev. Dr. Judy Alston

LGBTQIA+ Person of Faith

Quote 

So, if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.”

John 8:36 (NRSV)

Devotion

Each June, two significant movements for liberation come together: Juneteenth and Pride Month. Juneteenth marks the delayed announcement of freedom to enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas, in 1865. Pride Month honors the courage, dignity, and visibility of LGBTQIA+ individuals who, at Stonewall and elsewhere, chose no longer to hide who they are or whom they love. Both observances share a history of freedom postponed but ultimately achieved, celebrating those who bravely claimed their right to live openly.

Freedom is not limited to a single day of recognition; rather, it represents an ongoing journey. Juneteenth serves as a reminder that although the Emancipation Proclamation was signed over two years prior, enslaved individuals in Texas did not receive the news until Union troops officially announced it. In parallel, many LGBTQIA+ people of faith may spend years or even decades before fully appreciating and accepting that God’s love is inherently theirs, independent of external validation.

There are two truths that exists simultaneously: the freedom that has already been proclaimed and the freedom we still need to realize in our lives. The Gospel states, “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” The real challenge isn’t that freedom hasn’t been announced, but rather that the world is not yet prepared to fully embrace it.

Juneteenth and Pride both remind us that liberation is communal. My freedom is bound up with yours. Neither Blackness nor Queerness can be understood apart from the systems that have tried to silence, shame, or enslave. Yet both have birthed resistance, joy, art, and faith that refuse to die. Our ancestors sang songs in the fields and marched in the streets. They prayed under threat and danced despite fear. Their faith was not naïve—it was defiant hope in action.

When I think of Juneteenth, I think of laughter at family cookouts, drums and praise breaks, the smell of barbecue, and the color red—symbolizing the blood shed for freedom. When I think of Pride, I think of rainbows bursting through rain clouds, of parades filled with glitter and gospel, of sacred bodies claiming space in the streets and the pews. Together, these images form a holy symphony of freedom—a liberation liturgy in motion.

In both stories, there is a holy “already-but-not-yet.” We are already free in God’s eyes, already made in God’s image, already beloved, but we are not yet fully free in society’s eyes. That’s why Juneteenth still matters. That’s why Pride still matters. Because we live in a world where Black Trans women face disproportionate violence, where Queer youth of color struggle to be seen and safe, where churches still debate whether to bless what God has already called good.

As a Black lesbian pastor, I know that freedom often comes with a fight, perseverance, and resilience. Yet I also know that joy itself is resistance. When we show up in the fullness of who we are—dancing, worshiping, serving, teaching, loving—we are living out divine liberation. We are embodying God’s dream for a world made whole: we contribute to the pursuit of holistic liberation and reflect a vision of unity and wholeness for our communities.

The call, then, is to keep proclaiming what the world tries to delay: that every child of God is worthy, free, and beloved. The church at its best is not the gatekeeper of freedom—it is the celebration of it. The same Spirit that moved through Galveston on June 19, 1865, and through Stonewall that began on June 28, 1969 (and lasted for 6 days), is still moving now calling us out of fear and into the fierce, freeing love of God.

This month, as we wave flags and lift our voices, may we remember that freedom is both gift and responsibility. Let us honor the ancestors and activists who paved the way and let us keep making space for those who still await the good news, the Gospel.

Because freedom delayed is not freedom denied.

Because God’s love waits for no one’s permission.

Because we are—each of us—free indeed.

Reflection

1.    What does “freedom” mean to you personally and spiritually?

2.    Where do you see God at work in both the Juneteenth and Pride stories?

3.    How has your understanding of liberation evolved as you’ve embraced your own identity and faith?

4.    What does it look like to celebrate freedom as both a gift received and a responsibility shared?

Action

This month, celebrate both Juneteenth and Pride by learning from and supporting Black LGBTQIA+ voices—read their stories, attend their events, amplify their art and leadership. Then, take one concrete step toward liberation in your community: speak up in your faith space, volunteer with a justice-oriented ministry, or simply remind someone that they are already free and fully loved by God.