Old Slave, New Clothes: A Juneteenth Companion

The slave tag was copper. Stamped with a number. The wearer paid for the proof of their own renting.

This essay traces that copper disc from Charleston to Galveston to the prison workshop to right now. It names the song this country keeps remastering, the garment it keeps restitching, and the children who can finally see what adults have spent generations refusing to see.

The poem asks a question you may have been asking your whole life: what does freedom sound like? And where is the bell?

Juneteenth is not a celebration. It is a commemoration. This work is built for readers ready to keep the book open.

WHAT'S INSIDE:

An essay on labor extraction, the Thirteenth Amendment, and what it means to wear the tag.

A poem asking what the sound of freedom is, and ending with a woman who has not yet heard the bell.

Five discussion prompts designed to work alone or in a room, with friends or in your own hands.

An image to carry with you.

ABOUT THIS EDITION:

This is a digital companion to the limited-run print zine Mirrored, edited by Simone. If you missed the print edition, this gives you the work. If you have the print edition, this gives you the prompts and image in a shareable format.

Published for Juneteenth 2026 by The Sound of LaLa Land.

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CREATOR BIO:



LaTasha DeLoach writes from Iowa City. She is the Senior Center Coordinator for the City of Iowa City and an adjunct instructor at the University of Iowa School of Social Work. She is at work on her first essay collection, Survival Theater.

Read more at latashadelo.substack.com

#Juneteenth, #essay, #poetry, #Blackwriters, #socialjustice, #laborhistory, discussion prompts, literary chapbook