Lizzo is hoping to unite fans later this month to mark Juneteenth - an annual celebration to commemorate when the Emancipation Proclamation was read to Texan slaves on 19 June 1865.
The Truth Hurts hitmaker took to her Instagram Stories to share a video asking fans, "So what are we gonna do for Juneteenth, y'all?", before sharing a string of social media clips about the commemoration.
Appearing onscreen with the Wikipedia entry for Juneteenth edited in as her backdrop, the star said: "What’s Juneteenth you ask? Juneteenth, it is also known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day and Cel-Liberation Day. It is an American Holiday... celebrated on June 19th."
Lizzo shared: "It’s something that, you know, we celebrated down in Texas - as you know, I grew up in Houston, and it’s a black holiday."
Paraphrasing a section of the Wikipedia entry which explained that Texan slaves were the last to be freed, Lizzo noted that "also it’s actually considered one of the longest-running African American holidays, a.k.a. America’s Second Independence Day because they took a f**king long time telling the slaves in Texas that they was free (sic).
"But you know what? We’re free now, so how are we gonna celebrate this, and all of this beautiful blackness that’s been going on and all of the love and positivity that we’ve been spreading?"
Lizzo concluded by asking her nearly nine million followers: "How are we gonna celebrate Juneteenth as a nation? I am bringing the red Kool-Aid (drink)."
The Truth Hurts singer has been vocal in her support of the Black Lives Matter movement, which has been in the headlines following the death of unarmed African-American man George Floyd at the hands of white police officers on 25 May. Anti-racism protests have been ongoing around the world ever since.
