Juneteenth 2021

The State Theatre and CYWOC are excited to announce their upcoming event, Juneteenth! at the State Theatre. The performance will stream from the State Theatre’s Facebook page on Saturday, June 19th at 8:00 pm.

Juneteenth is an important holiday in the Black community, marking the day news of the Emancipation Proclamation reached rural Texas – two years after Abraham Lincoln’s announcement. CYWOC founder Janay Woodruff, who also performs as Janaesound, organized the event for the first time last year in the early days of the pandemic and amid global Black Lives Matter protests that demanded justice for the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and other Black men and women at the hands of police. Woodruff wanted to showcase the talent of local Black musicians while raising money for organizations that empower Portland’s Black Community.

This year’s event will include performances by Black musicians and performers: Janaesound, Mosart212, Ali Ali, and Rodney Mashia, a Biddeford-based musician who also performed last year.

Juneteenth! is free to stream but donations are welcome. This year’s performance will benefit CYWOC as it kicks off its pilot program, supporting ten young Women of Color through a 350-hour coding boot camp, followed by resume-building and staff augmentation opportunities with local tech partners. While demand for tech workers continues to rise dramatically in the United States, representation in its workforce remains predominantly white and male. Reports show that Women of Color make up roughly 5% of the tech workforce, and for Black women, that number is even lower, at 2%. CYWOC aims to change those numbers while also addressing a major labor shortfall.