A Day of Black Joy: Celebrating Juneteenth with AAMP

It’s been five years since we released our first version of the ABC Affirmations into the world. Our Black Girl Magic deck, inspired by my daughter, launched on Valentine’s Day 2021. Now, I know y’all remember, but 2021 was peak COVID era. We were all still very much inside. I was homeschooling and sharing my thoughts on Black children’s education. My daughter had recently turned two years old, and I decided to create a set of alphabet flash cards for her. The rest, as they say, is history.

But that was FIVE whole years ago, and since then…well, things have changed. We’ve gone through what so many small businesses, especially the mission-driven, community-rooted ones, have experienced. But through the growing pains and supply chains, instead of letting go, I decided to expand the vision just a bit. I wanted to get offline and into the community I was called to serve. And so, we launched our first community activation: The Affirmation Station. 

Inside our Affirmation Station

Over the past year, we’ve traded some of our screen time for story time. Instead of only shipping our culturally affirming learning products to families, we’ve been bringing Liberated Young directly into our communities. Meeting children where they are, listening to families, and creating moments of affirmation together.

Picture this, a booth filled with mini-versions of our ABC Affirmations Trace & Color worksheets. Children visit, we create a personalized affirmation booklet based on their name, and they get an affirmation keepsake they can trace, color, and make their own. 

It’s been AMAZING. 

We’ve had the chance to connect with Black children and families, face to face, and see the joy and light when they come up and create their affirmations. When they see the illustrations. When they recognize that this is for them. And this past Juneteenth, we got the incredible opportunity to share our Affirmation Station at the African American Museum of Philadelphia’s Juneteenth Jubilee! 

Celebrating Juneteenth with AAMP

We were invited as a community resource which meant we were able to provide this activity for FREE for all the babies…AND the village. Because there weren’t only little kids and toddlers coming up. Big kids, teens, adults, and even elders sat down to choose affirmations that spoke to them. What started as a children’s literacy activity became a reminder that we all need to hear words that affirm who we are.

It was such an incredible day full of Black joy, magic, laughter, and love. AND to be celebrating with the African American Museum of Philadelphia?! Reminders that your gift will make room for you. 

By the end of the day, we had given away more than 100 personalized affirmation booklets. I know because I printed, cut, and organized every single mini-worksheet by hand—and we still ran out before the event ended. Can you imagine? Over 100 Black children walking around with affirmation name booklets on Juneteenth reminding them that they are amazing, beautiful, confident, divine, enough, and FREE. 

One thing I’ve always said about this work is that the lack of representation in Black children’s learning materials impacts them beyond the classroom. But what the Juneteenth Jubilee and our Affirmation Station is reminding me of,  is that culturally affirming experiences don’t only belong in classrooms either. They belong in parks, museums, schools, libraries, festivals, and anywhere our children, and us too, gather. 

Read more about the Juneteenth Jubilee and its impact in the Philadelphia Tribune, along with what this event meant for us: Packed Juneteenth block party kicks off Welcome America events in Philadelphia