Since 2019, bare practitioners have observed today, 14 July, annually, as Bare Practitioner’s Day! A date that is not that widely known outside of our own community and culture but an occasion that has a growing base of observers. A single day for us to all be confident and proud of we are: same gender loving (SGL) and nakedness enthusiasts! Prior to 2019, this date was promoted as Gay Nudist Day.
The Gay Nudist Day distinction was adopted in the mid-1980s as the growing number of bisexual and gay nudist social clubs sought a separate observance from the discriminating naturist/nudist society. Some of the earliest bisexual/gay nude social clubs were: Males au Naturel (MEN) of New York City, Los Angeles Nude Guys (LANG), San Francisco Kindred Nudists (SKINS), Greater Atlanta Naturist Group (GANG) and Lambda Soleil of Washington, D.C.
This year, 2025, our day happens the day after the National Skinny-Dipping Day, the official final day of National Nude Recreation Week – a valid reason for us to extend our observation for at least an extra 24 hours! As if any of us actually require a reason for body and clothes freedom!
Same gender loving!
Following SIR (Stonewall Inn riots) in 1969, bisexual and gay naked participants experienced first-hand the very deliberate and obvious discriminatory regulations and rules adopted by the existing naturist/nudist facilities and organizations to discourage our participation. We also suffered similar reaction from our GLBTQ+ culture who were seeking to distance themselves from our “depraved” lifestyle of bare as opposed to being textile (clothed).
Directions for nudity!
In a brief summary: the naturist/nudist proponents rejected our nakedness due to our acceptance of ourselves as bisexual, gay or lesbian – the despicable species now claiming equality. Their homophobia forced them to reject us.
The emerging and growing bisexual, gay and lesbian movement, already militant in addressing challenges to their very existence, truly believed that our preference for nudity damaged their image of decency and normalcy.
In reality, we were social outcasts totally rejected and marginalized. No one wanted us!
Rather accept a double negative judgment, we instead remind ourselves of our very special and unique roles in being what and who we really are! On this day, 14 July, we commemorate our dual nature through being us!
Being ourselves!
Instead of continuing having to live with the bias and segregation of the broader naturist/nudist society and the general GLBTQ+ population conveniently “setting” us aside from them, we decided to celebrate this day in our own way by choosing among ourselves to honour ourselves by just simply being ourselves. Our choice to be us!
Thus, in creating our own solution to the problem, we completely avoided the issue altogether! We reacted and responded long before the need was even recognized. Therefore, nothing ventured, progress gained! Gay Nudist Day was inaugurated! Taking responsibility for ourselves as bare practitioners was an important step forward for us as a community and culture unto ourselves!
All together!
This year, observing Bare Practitioner’s Day/Gay Nudist Day, Aaron, my spouse, and I had family joining us in our home in Richmond, Virginia, for the weekend. My Twin, Alex and his partner, Dante; our first cousin, Michael and his partner, Ropati; and Aaron’s older brother Paul and his boyfriend, Sudhir. Our skinny-dipping excursion to the James River and our “unofficial” gay nude beach was a daily undertaking. We took advantage of the Bare Practitioner Day/Gay Nudist Day occasion and extended our holiday to include today and tonight.
Aaron took the day off from hospital and should the weather cooperate,another day of skinny-dipping in Alex and my “old” nudist resort (unofficial) – a public park located along the riverfront inside Richmond city. Monday evening, my bare practitioner buddy from my youth, Paul Turner and his new “significant other” are joining us for dinner and we’re watching an old movie classic from 1999 – “The Wood” – that features nothing same gender loving but it does have some naked fun! This film is a favourite of Aaron, Paul Turner, Michael and me!
“The Wood” Taye Diggs is modestly naked!
The film stars Taye Diggs who’s completely – but modest – naked in the above .gif along with his co-stars covered in only blue towels: Omar Epps and Richard T. Jones.
Although the starring trio are all (supposedly) heterosexual, their hosing antics in the clothes free scene above do cause us to wonder as to their bare practitioner status!
Taye Diggs appears to be comfortable with his nakedness!
The trio are friends from their teen years and have recently recovered Roland (Taye Diggs) from his disappearance prior to his wedding.
Hosing as punishment!
The decision to spray Roland (Taye Diggs) with a garden hose as punishment for disappearing is lost on me. It has been at least five years since I last watched the film in its entirety!
Eventually, Roland is perturbed over his outdoor “shower!”
The three naturists in the backyard scene have been best friends since growing up together in Inglewood, California – hence the movie title: “The Wood.” The comedy-drama deals with the peculiarities of young adult men and their issues.
Taye Diggs as Roland in his solo nude scene!
The irony of watching a bare heterosexual cast perform on bare practitioner’s day was duly noted by all when we came together.
Richard T. Jones gives Taye Diggs a final hose squirt!
I need to thank my friend, Paul Turner, for emailing to me the .gif clips from The Wood so that I could share them with all of you here!
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride: Guys Without Boxers!
Author’s Note: The next post entry here is planned for Friday, July 18, 2025, and the proposed topic is: “Excessive Evidence!”
The purpose of this post entry here on ReNudePride: Guys Without Boxers! is to provide the history leading into the celebration of National Nude Recreation Week.
This week-long festival of body and clothes freedom recreational (leisure) activities is jointly co-sponsored annually by the American Association of Nude Recreation (AANR) and The Naturist Society (TNS). As summer is the “season-in-the-sun,” it is only logical (natural) that two major naturist/nudist advisory organizations proclaim and promote an event in honour of clean, healthy bare (nude) living. The recent tendency over the last several years is to observe this occasion the week following the 4 July holiday.
Celebrate the occasion naked!
National Nude Recreation Week involves an emphasis on the numerous activities, leisure services, and pastimes, both active and passive, that people may engage in or undertake while clothes free. In essence, almost identical to what can be enjoyed when wearing garments. This isn’t to imply this special week is the only time we bare our bodies for fun and games. We do that quite frequently!
The race to the beach!
The history of National Nude Recreation Week is recent with the earliest documented date of 7 August, 1976, as being Nude Beach Day. It was first observed at Truro Beach in southern California and at the Head of the Meadow Beach in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
The Nude Beach Day was continued at the same locations and by the end of the 1970s decade, it soon expanded into the National Nude Weekend in order to expand the time of the clothes free event. As many traditional naturist/nudist camps, resorts and other facilities weren’t located with access to a clothing optional beach it soon became apparent that another name change and another expansion of the theme was necessary.
A memorable Nude Recreation Week!
Many existing clothes free businesses, facilities and properties were first-hand witnesses to the rapidly growing numbers of people now taking advantage of the weekend event. They sought to grow their own markets by affiliating with the already established destinations. This new interest helped the popularity of the event to grow even more and added additional incentives for development and growth.
In the early 1980s, the weekend then evolved into the current event known as National Nude Recreation Week. This extended time period encouraged even more people to explore social nudity and to try new opportunities.
Expand horizons!
Author’s Advisory:
Rest assured that even without an “officially” declared National Nude Recreation Week, the ever-resourceful bare practitioner community and culture would need no excuse to strip out of clothes and stroll about in proud nakedness. After all, our nudity is firmly implanted in our DNA! Besides, none of us would ever want to change!
Strolling together!
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride: Guys Without Boxers!
Author’s Note: The next post entry here is planned for Friday, July 11, 2025, and the proposed topic is: “Nude Recreation Week #2!”
1 July, 1867: Queen Victoria signs the British North America Act, creating the Dominion of Canada!
The British North America Act, now referred to as the Constitution Act, 1867, united three separate British colonies – Canada (Ontario and Quebec), New Brunswick and Nova Scotia – into one self-governing Dominion under the name of Canada while remaining in the sovereignty of the Crown.
His Majesty, King Charles III
On 27, May, 2025, King Charles III reads his Speech From the Throne of Canada reasserting Canada’s sovereignty over itself and the Canadian future!
Prime Minister Mark Carney requested that His Majesty, the King, to open a new Parliament and to reassert Canada over the belligerent threats from the president of the USA. This action reassured Canadians angered about annexation to the U.S.
Of course, we all know the limits of the mentality of the trumpster-dumpster (alias: rotund-rodent)!
Canada Day, 1 July, annually!
Map of Canada!
Since the British North America Act became real, the four original provinces covered within the parliamentary act (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Canada – Ontario and Quebec), through westward expansion, have now grown to become the Canada that we know today!
Canadian flag promoting an event!
The World Naked Bike Ride announced above was held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the city where Aaron, my spouse, was born.
Have a very happy and safe Canada Day!
Naked hugs!
Roger Peterson-Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride: Guys Without Boxers!
Author’s Note: The next post entry here is planned for Friday, July 4, 2025, and the proposed topic is: “USA: 4 July, 2025!”
It is obvious that our bare practitioner community and culture isn’t the only organization observing June as a month of Pride! This rainbow coloured park bench is indicative that this same distinction is shared by this local recreation and parks agency also! This rainbow park bench serves as a reminder to us all that celebrating Pride is not limited solely to the month of June nor just to the GLBTQ+ population!
Even in a shallow water level, relaxing while enjoying nakedness is still considered the all-time favourite aquatic activity known as skinny-dipping (swimming naked)!
A bottoms-up! hairy pair of buttocks is all that’s necessary to mark the closure of Pride Month, 2025!
A serious yet solemn stare as he provides a full viewing of his very personal contribution in commemoration of this Bottoms-Up! June, 2025!
Aquatics Bottoms-Up! celebrating Pride Month, 2025! in a very fun inspired posing while taking a dive into the neighbourhood pool skinny-dipping (swimming naked)! Seasonally appropriate, comfortably cooling and very inviting!
The bromantic (brother + romantic) bare practitioner strolling duo: same-gender loving (SGL) and nakedness enthusiasts bottoms-up! at a clothing-optional resort.
Their bare practitioner relationship is apparent and obvious to all as is their bottoms-up! appreciation and comfort! Free from any evidence of embarrassment, guilt or shame! Proud to be what and who they are all year long!
A graphic adaptation of an original artwork by the late gay artist, Keith Haring, who died from complications with AIDS.
Naked hugs!
Roger Peterson-Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride: Guys Without Boxers!
Author’s Note: The next post entry here is planned for tomorrow, Tuesday, July 1, 2025, and the proposed topic is: “Canada Day, 2025!”
The exterior view of The Stonewall Inn, Christopher Street, New York City, New York, USA, where history happened the evening of 27/28 June, 1969!
Background:
Friday, 27 June, 1969, was a very hot and humid day in New York City. Everyone was anxiously awaiting the approaching weekend and the freedom from having to struggle for relief from the oppressive weather.
At that time, the same gender loving people were known, at least in “polite” society, as “homosexuals” (a name now considered derogatory). The popular nickname was “homos.” This segment of the New York City population was not only oppressed by the weather but also by the bias, discrimination, hatred, marginalization and violence of the general population against all persons seen as homos.
There were laws prohibiting homosexuality socially on record in 49 of the fifty states of the USA. Illinois had repealed its anti-homosexuality legal restrictions in 1961. All segments of society: general, government, legal and religious were united against the “deviant” (homosexual) peoples.
It was unlawful for homosexuals to gather together in public. They were fired from their jobs for being thought of as being homosexual without any legal recourse. They were ridiculed and attacked publicly often without any consequence for those assaulting them. Simply being a homosexual was considered a criminal act.
Everyone was required, by law, to wear clothing appropriate to their birth gender. The only legal exception was for Halloween.
The Stonewall Inn:
The Stonewall Inn (it was never a hotel) opened as a bar catering to the homosexual community in 1967. Prior to that, it had been a stable (for horses), a French bakery, a tearoom and lastly a restaurant that had burned out of business. Upon renovation, it opened as a tavern (bar) on 18 March, 1967, under Mafia-affiliated management and owned by the Genovese crime family.
The establishment consisted of two main rooms, each with its own dance floor. The front room was popular with older clientele and the back room attracted the younger ones.
“The door of the Stonewall had wrought-iron bars across this little “peephole,” a little wooden thing that slid open. The man inside would look at you and, it you looked like you belonged there, he would let you in.” ~ Chris Babick ~ describing the entrance to the Stonewall Inn
*************************
Friday evening, 27 June 1969:
Most of the patrons gathered inside the Stonewall Inn were looking forward to a night of dancing with their friends, relaxing with watered-down cocktails and enjoying a summer’s Friday night in New York City in a place relatively comfortable and safe for homosexual acquaintances. They had no idea that they were about to witness an historical event that would change their lives – and the homosexual world – forever.
Both the dance floors at Stonewall Inn were full of dancing homosexual couples. It was now just after midnight and 28 June, 1969, was now in its infancy. Suddenly, the music stopped. The lights that were dimmed to enhance the atmosphere came back on in a bright glare that caught everyone by surprise. Almost simultaneously, the realization dawned on the festive crowds: New York City police were raiding the bar!
The New York City Police Department was long familiar with conducting raids on homosexual bars (both female and male). Their process for the procedure was fairly routine and standard. They recognized homosexuals as a relatively compliant and passive crowd. For this reason, only one police transport vehicle (“paddy-wagon”) and one marked police squad car were involved in the raid.
Less than a dozen officers were assigned the task of managing and segregating the clientele, confiscating all the alcohol and arresting the Stonewall Inn employees.
Patrons outside Stonewall Inn, early evening, Friday, 27 June, 1969!
Early Saturday morning, 28 June, 1969:
“The police weren’t letting us dance! If there’s one place in the world where you can dance and feel yourself fully as a person and that’s threatened with being taken away, those words are fighting words!” ~ Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt ~ Stonewall Inn patron and participant
The arrival of the police raiding force caused pandemonium to erupt inside the Stonewall Inn. Customers searched in vain for an escape route or for a place to hide. The police immediately began confiscating both liquor and beer as evidence against the establishment and segregating the bar crowd: bar employees, cross-dressers (transgender persons) and the “regular” homosexuals.
The bar employees and cross-dressers were to be arrested for their individual violating the law. The “regular” homosexuals, once they showed officers their proper identification, were to be given citations and then permitted to leave.
The year, 1969, was at the end of a decade that had witnessed massive social unrest. The African-American protests for civil rights, the birth of the feminist and women’s rights movements, the anti-Vietnam war and peace demonstrations and the equal pay marches for primarily Latino/Latina immigrant farm workers were underway during this time. The homosexuals who had participated in some of these public unrests were energized and many wondered when their time for equality would happen. Little did they, and the police raiding the Stonewall Inn, realize that moment had arrived!
As the police began checking the identities of those inside the Stonewall Inn, those with proper credentials were released and herded outside the bar. Only this time, instead of simply leaving the premises, they congregated on the sidewalks and across the street at the Christopher Street Park. Once law enforcement attempted to disperse them, they grew confrontational and belligerent.
Unaccustomed to homosexual defiance, the police continued to press the order to vacate the area. The growing crowd, emboldened by their frustration with being treated as “deviants” and second-class citizens, began to chant and to empty nearby trash cans and hurl the garbage at the officers.
By this time, passers-by, curious as to what was happening, joined the upset homosexuals to express their dissatisfaction with the raid. The crowd outside the Stonewall Inn began to grow in both number, anger and curiosity. When word of what had transpired inside the tavern began to spread, even more homosexuals started to descend into the inn’s neighborhood and amass in the bar’s vicinity.
Angry crowd outside Stonewall Inn, early Saturday morning, 28 June 1969!
SIR: Stonewall Inn Riot commences:
By now, the police, trapped inside the facility by the large crowd outside, understood that the situation had gotten beyond their control. They tried to call for reinforcements but were unable to reach any source for assistance. They had secured the bar but were confined inside and the crowd outside was swelling in both size and fury. A few hundred bar patrons had now increased into an angry mob of several thousand and more were joining by the minute.
“You could hear screaming outside, a lot of noise from the protesters, and it was a good sound. It was a real good sound that, you know, you had a lot of people out there pulling for you.” ~ Raymond Castro ~ Stonewall Inn customer detained inside the bar under siege
No one in the New York City Police Department had anticipated the homosexuals, always believed to be “meek and mild,” would fight back. The years of abuse, neglect, oppression, and ridicule had taken their toll, and the frustration had now become revolution; the time for retribution was at hand. Unfortunately for law enforcement, the pent-up anger toward the police was now being released and returned in kind. They were now prisoners inside the Stonewall Inn.
Two hours after the raid was initiated, the raiders and their detainees were trapped and no immediate relief was available. The two-way communication devices between the raiding party and their office weren’t working and the only public telephone inside the tavern wasn’t able to connect with any local police precincts. The “passive” homosexuals had finally achieved a “first” in their spontaneous riot: the police were contained, surrounded and they were all very nervous. By now, the mob outside the Greenwich Village bar numbered several thousand with a full-fledged riot underway.
SIR: Stonewall Inn Riot!Multiple police attack a protester early Saturday morning, 28 June, 1969!
In an effort to relieve the inflammatory predicament, the isolated police decided to send the detainees and half the officers trapped inside the tavern, using the two police vehicles on site, to the closest local precinct. There, the detainees would be formally charged with arrest, and the officers could make arrangements for a police riot force to assemble and rescue the remaining law enforcement personnel. This relief effort finally returned to the bar and eventually dispersed the angry mob of homosexuals and curious onlookers several hours later.
Saturday evening, 28 June, 1969:
Despite damage to the Stonewall Inn, the bar opened for business (dancing and socializing) the following night, Saturday, 28 June. by then, word of the disturbance the previous evening had spread throughout the city’s largely closeted (anonymous) homosexual community (primarily by word of mouth). The city officials and law enforcement superior officers were hesitant to release information that would encourage more aggressive reaction.
A larger than usual crowd gathered both inside and outside the Greenwich Village establishment. Most didn’t expect a repeat raid of the night before and a significant number of those in attendance mainly wanted to inspect the damage. The police, however, had different ideas. They were strictly outside the facility in full force with a large number in riot gear. They had learned their lesson and were determined to remain in complete control should the patrons become unruly again.
The homosexuals and the neighbourhood residents had been empowered by the riot the night before and of the mindset not to bullied into submission again. As the large police presence attempted to disperse those gathered outside the Stonewall Inn, they were confronted by verbal insults and an array of street-savvy tactics that set law enforcement chase off onlookers, only to have them run around the city block and return again.
Silent obedience to uniformed policemen was no longer a fact of life for New York City’s homosexuals. They were tired of suffering abuse, disrespect, ridicule and treatment as second-class citizens.
A crowd lining the sidewalk on the Stonewall Inn city block watched by police, Saturday evening, 28 June, 1969!
The second night of the Stonewall Inn congregation wasn’t as aggressively disruptive as the previous night. No further damage was done to the tavern facility. However, an awakening consciousness was raised within the municipal homosexual community that would change the way society viewed them and – most importantly – the way they perceived themselves.
For the first time, the often assumed obedient and passive homosexuals joined together and defended their rights and demonstrated that they, as a community, had finally and long last, “had enough!”
“There was no gay pride before Stonewall. Only gay fear and gay isolation and gay distrust and gay self-hatred.” ~ Edmond White ~ American gay novelist and Stonewall witness
Our GLBTQ+ Progress Pride flag!
Footnote: This posting entry was from a research paper that I composed for class distribution that I taught at my university, 2015 – 2018.
Sources:
Bausman, Ann “Stonewall: Breaking Out for Gay Rights”
Doberman, Martin F. “Stonewall: A History”
Naked hugs!
Roger Peterson-Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride: Guys Without Boxers!
Author’s Note: The next post entry here is planned for Monday, June 30, 2025, and the proposed topic is: “Bottoms-Up! June, 2025!
As we are, this week, approaching the actual dates of the Stonewall Inn riots of 1969, my spouse, Aaron, and I agreed that a look at the historic site of SIR (Stonewall Inn riots) that ignited our movement for equality and justice was appropriate and fitting. A sense of irony that the dates of 2025 coincide in reality with the corresponding days and dates of SIR in 1969!
The purpose of this posting entry today is to offer a visual image of the facilities that played an important role in the SIR event, 1969. It may serve as a reference for those traveling to New York City in the future. A scene from our shared past as it appears today: a glimpse of our history. One that was ignored and overlooked for decades!
The Stonewall Inn, June, 2016!
The image above is of The Stonewall Inn as it was decorated for Pride Month, 2016. The facility was renovated, both externally and internally, in 2007. The Stonewall Inn and surrounding area was designated as a national monument by then-President Barack Hussein Obama on 24 June, 2016. It was the first such designation associated with the GLBTQ+ community and culture.
Footnote #1:The current gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer+ (GLBTQ+) flag was not created nor adopted until June, 2018. The above flag was displayed in honour of then-President Obama’s signing of the Stonewall Inn National Monument status two years earlier.
The Stonewall National Monument is the very first site in the USA exclusively dedicated to the commemoration of anything specifically related to the GLBTQ+ community and culture. The fact that the site underscores the beginning of the struggle for the equality, freedom and justice of that particular community and culture keeps it within the supposed national tradition of all persons being equal under the guise of this country, this government and the law.
Footnote #2: On 13 February, 2025, the National Park Service eliminated all references to transgender persons from the Stonewall National Monument facilities and website. This action was taken so public park facilities would comply with the felon-in-chief executive order denying the history of the Stonewall Inn riots. What was originally promoted as GLBTQ+ is now simply GLB (gay, lesbian, bisexual).
Inresponse, the Stonewall Gives Back Initiative and The Stonewall Inn replied with an appropriate, mature and respectful statement immediately following the issuance of Executive Order #14168:
“This blatant act of erasure not only distorts the truth of our history, but it also dishonors the immense contributions of transgender individuals – especially transgender women of color – who were at the forefront of the Stonewall Riots and the broader fight for GLBTQ+ rights.”
The Stonewall National Monument!
The Monument Property:
The monument includes and surrounds Christopher Park (formerly known as the Christopher Street Park) that was originally owned by the New Netherlands Director-General, Wouter van Twiller, as a tobacco farm from 1633 until his death in 1638. When he died, the property was divided into smaller farms.
European immigration to New York City (following the Netherlands ceding the New Netherlands colony to the British) magnified and streets and neighborhoods developed. In 1835, the Great Fire of New York City burned the area known as Greenwich Village. The new Christopher Street Park opened in 1837 on the land of the old tobacco farm. The Stonewall Inn, which consisted of two adjacent stables, was built across the street from the park in 1843.
Entrance to Christopher Park, Stonewall National Monument!
The Stonewall National Monument is located in the West Village neighbourhood of Greenwich Village in lower Manhattan, New York City. The site includes the actual Stonewall Inn, Christopher Street and Christopher Park (formerly known as the Christopher Street Park).
Then U. S. President, Mr. Barack Obama
“But the arc of history is clear – it’s an arc of progress. And a lot of that progress can be traced back to Stonewall. So, this week, I’m designating the Stonewall National Monument as the newest addition to America’s national park system. Stonewall will be our first national monument to tell the story of GLBT rights.” ~ President Barack Obama ~ Weekly Address, The White House 25 June 2016
Stonewall National Monument, Christopher Park statues!
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride: Guys Without Boxers!
Author’s Note: The next post entry here is planned for Thursday, June 26, 2025, and the proposed topic is: “HIV Testing Day!”
Summer, 2025, is here at last! Make every moment count in fun and in memory!
Enough sand, surf and sun for everyone!
This season won’t last forever! Enjoy it while we all can!
True! Summer comes once every year. A time to slower our pace in life and to savor and appreciate the beauty of our environment and of the joy and fulfillment of our family and friends! Relax and bask in sunshine as well as the freedom of outdoors – natural in our body and without the burden of clothes!
Rejuvenate and renude (renew) ourselves so this special season of “fun-in-the-sun” lasts us until it returns next year as the Summer, 2026!
A good book in the sun!
An important reminder: responsible alcohol consumption, sunglasses and sunscreen!
Skinny-dipping antics!
Guidelines for water safety urge all of us, no matter our aquatic abilities and skills, to always enter the water in the company of others in order to reduce chances of emergencies.
Enjoying a fun day at the beach, embracing the freedom of summer.Our site’s spokesmodel, film actor Phoenix Fellington!
Our very own official unofficial (unpaid) spokesmodel, adult film actor Phoenix Fellington, endorses our safety reminders and reiterates his pleasure in being naked while in a natural environment!
Happy Summer, 2025!
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride: Guys Without Boxers!
Author’s Note: The next post entry here is planned for Monday, June 23, 2025, and the proposed topic is: “Stonewall Today!”
The proper name of this date is Juneteenth National Independence Day. It is the most recent federal (national) holiday in the USA, first enacted by then-President Joseph Biden in 2021. It is an annual celebration observed on 19 June (exempt from the Monday holiday policy) to commemorate the formal and official emancipation (freedom) from slavery of the African-American and Indigenous Peoples (Native Americans) in the USA.
The name of this occasion is a combination of the words “June” and “nineteenth” (in the vernacular of the populations freed) because on this exact date, 19 June 1865, Major General Gordon Granger ordered the official enforcement of the declaration of the Emancipation Proclamation of the late President Lincoln. This enactment occurred throughout the entire state of Texas at the end of the U.S. Civil War.
Introduction:
The initial celebrations of this happening began as early as 1866 throughout the state known as Texas. Initially, because of the shortages and financial burdens of the civil war and the Union occupation, the events were in the format of local church sponsored community gatherings often featuring a large communal meal with each family/household contributing a special food. Observances soon spread beyond the borders of Texas and into surrounding former slave-owning states, still limited to the liberated enslaved peoples.
Once the Reconstruction (military occupation and administration of the South by the Union army) Period ended, a period known as “Jim Crow” government (racial oppression and legal segregation) ensued throughout the former Confederacy. During this time, the continued unofficial celebrations of the Juneteenth date were held under the auspices of local churches but gradually expanded from food festivals to include music and dancing.
Juneteenth Expansion:
The exceptionally large number of former slaves and their families continued to live in the South due to limited financial resources and travel availability. The U.S. involvement in The Great War (World War I) in 1917 allowed Blacks a chance to improve their economic circumstances by fighting in France. Following the war ending in 1918, The Great Migration happened with hundreds of thousands of African-Americans moving from the rural Southern sharecropping to Nothern and Western industrial factories and a regular paycheck.
This reality opened the doors to introduction and expansion of Juneteenth festivities to local church communities in both northern and western areas of the U.S. The growth increased awareness of and observances of the occasion and its importance to this particular population. Gradually, among churches, statewide and soon national recognition of this event followed.
The success of the civil rights struggle and the repeal of systemic segregation policies in the 1970s and 1980s, a movement emerged urging support of a Juneteenth official observance. This culminated finally in then President Biden signing into law the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act in 2021.
Togetherness!
Juneteenth Myth:
A popular myth/rumor surrounding the earlier observances of the Juneteenth event was the fact that Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered his Army of Northern Virginia to Union General Ulysses Grant on 9 April, 1865, in the town of Appomattox, Virginia, many hundreds of miles from Texas.
The Southern plantation/slave owners were extremely reluctant to inform their enslaved “property” that they were now free. The myth evolved that the news of the emancipated slaves receiving liberation was only orally repeated from plantation-to-plantation. The Texans were the last to learn of their terminated bondage on 19 June, 1865. Hence the Juneteenth designation.
This word-of-mouth only conveying of the news of freedom from slavery was how many justified the delay in the information of Lee’s surrender to Grant two months earlier.
A Closer Look:
Given the speed of internet, social media and technological marvels, it is almost impossible to comprehend the validity of the myths/rumours of delayed news transmission concerning freedom. However, with the timeline and the reality that the exclusive Southern “upper class” was totally Caucasian, slave-owning and severely financially impacted by the defeat of the rebellious Confederacy, there’s a possibility of some vague truth here.
In addition, the wealth of plantation owners and the upper level of Southern society was frequently based on and measured by the values of those held in servitude. The eradication of slavery as a legality would and did bankrupt an empowered class of that society. Combined with the conclusion of a five-year-long devastating Civil War in which an overwhelming number of battles – and destruction – occurred in the strictly segregated South, this provided circumstances that could lead to some verification of the unsubstantiated Juneteenth myth.
The Unanswered Question:
Why did it take 156 years to designate a holiday to commemorate a major event in this nation’s history? A country that was built for democracy and freedom.
Happy Juneteenth holiday and naked hugs to all!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride: Guys Without Boxers!
Author’s Note: The next post entry here is planned for Saturday, June 21, 2025, and the proposed topic is: “Summer, 2025!”
The arrival of our annual GLBTQ+ Pride Month celebrations encourages many within our community to experiment with the contemporary phenomena of selfie photography and/or posing. This engagement not only satisfies the curiosity and desire to explore the current obsession but to also provide them with a resource as to their appearance “in the eyes” of others.
This process offers them not only self-assurance but self-confidence as well. It affords them the opportunity to analyze their image but also judge themselves without making a public spectacle of their efforts. The privacy of their home environment enables them to comfortably express themselves as they have witnessed celebrities posing.
Creating these selfie pictures gives the self-photographer images to share with close friends to gain their thoughts on his posing. This additional insight often increases the number of poses a person may consider sharing with others and/or saving.
For those selfie creators who are unfamiliar with posing and photographing their nakedness, this presents them an ideal opportunity capture themselves in the bare practitioner mode (environment, setting). While gaining confidence with exposing their nakedness, it affords them the chance to share themselves with others through sharing their images.
This enables familiarity with body and clothes freedom. It no longer is a distant and foreign concept or practice but one that comes closer to comfort and reality – a sense of “normal” and routine. Another step in the journey towards bare practitioner! The process of exploration awakens knowledge and understanding.
This experience affords to some all that is necessary to pursue the lifestyle of an active bare practitioner. For the majority, it offers insight – a glimpse – into the community and culture and what it entails and promotes. This introduction does, hopefully, give birth to a respect and a tolerance towards all persons who are or become bare practitioners!
Advice!
My spouse, Aaron, offers the thought below:
“Same gender loving and nakedness are compatible and natural. They compliment one another; like a rose blooming on a bush.” ~ Aaron Michael Peterson-Poladopoulos ~ 28 March, 2022
In a more exemplary manner, I offer the following summation for today’s theme here on ReNude Pride: Guys Without Boxers! for pondering:
“Man designs fashions. Man makes clothes. Man makes mistakes! The measure of a man isn’t based on the clothes that he wears. The true measure of a man is determined by the clothes that he is not wearing! Bare is the perfection of the human body without the mistakes.” ~ Roger Peterson-Poladopoulos ~
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride: Guys Without Boxers!
Author’s Note: The next post entry here is planned for Thursday, June 19, 2025, and the proposed topic is: “USA: Juneteenth Holiday!”
It is GLBTQ+ Pride Month, 2025! My professional experience and training is in education which includes challenges and creativity in conveying information and ideas using whatever methods available. This enables me to assess my effectiveness in communication. From this point until you receive your naked hugs in conclusion, everyone proceeds at their own comfort level.
Background:
In reality, today is Sunday, 25 May, 2025. I am composing this for publication on Friday, 13 June, 2025, here on ReNude Pride: Guys Without Boxers! This removes me from having to write an entry for the proverbial “bad luck” (unlucky) day of Friday, the 13th. This also spares each and every one of you from reacting to a post created on that unpopular date!
Can You?
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride: Guys Without Boxers!
Author’s Note: The next post entry here is planned for Monday, June 16, 2025, and the proposed topic is: “Confident Selfies!”
ReNude Pride: Guys Without Boxers! 