When Greg Ellis arrived in Dallas as the Cowboys' first-round pick in 1998, he did not know what Juneteenth was. On Saturday, he will release on the internet, "Juneteenth the Stage Play," which he wrote and produced three years ago.
Ellis's goal is to make Juneteenth a national holiday and help educate those about the day's significance.
"I know a lot of people are looking for answers. Other ethnic groups are looking for answers, and this will supply a lot of those answers they're looking for when it comes to oppression and racism," Ellis said. "The increased attention that's been shed on it will help, but if it doesn't, then it's a missed opportunity. I pray people get it and understand this is an opportunity. If you really say you want to do something, we have a petition. If you say you're looking for answers to why we're still dealing with these issues, you can get those questions answered by watching the play."
Juneteenth observes the actual effective end of slavery when Gen. Gordon Granger read orders on June 19, 1865, in Galveston, Texas, that all slaves were free -- some 18 months after the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect on Jan. 1, 1863.
Ellis says folks can visit juneteenththeplay.com to purchase tickets to see the play, as well as sign the petition to make Juneteenth a national holiday. Ellis said the first petition had about 400,000 signatures but a new petition was added Friday morning.
The NFL and the Cowboys have added their support for the play in recent days. The Cowboys are among the many teams in the league who've given players and coaches the day off in observance of Juneteeth. And, Ravens coach John Harbaugh is the first active NFL coach who has suggested that Juneteenth should be recognized as a national holiday.
"Juneteenth needs to be regarded the same way the Fourth of July is, our independence from Britain," Ellis said. "I say that because independence from slavery is what Juneteenth is about. More people need to be aware of it. We are pushing Black Lives Matter and it's hard to say Black Lives Matter if this country at large doesn't recognize the day we identify with the freedom slavery. So the country itself needs to go ahead and allow Juneteenth to be a national holiday. It's our prayer and hope that our play is used as a call to action."
Ellis released the play in 2018. The performance that will be aired Saturday is from Lufkin, Texas. Given the coronavirus pandemic, he could not have a cast and crew conduct the play live.
The former defensive end, who played in the NFL through the 2009 season, believes the play can serve as a teaching tool.
"It started off as a passion and with what's going on now, it can raise awareness about Juneteenth, the importance of Juneteenth and uncover and show the reasons behind some of the systemic racism issues this country has been dealing with for years," Ellis said. "Obviously the topic is very popular right now for some negative reasons, but we still need to come together and help people and hopefully work toward a solution."