Pharrell Williams and Kenya Barris are in talks to create a musical film inspired by Juneteenth for Netflix.
The 47-year-old musician and the 45-year-old Black-ish creator are in the early stages of planning out the feature-length project, according to Deadline.
The news was reported on Juneteenth, a holiday that commemorates the freeing of slaves throughout the United States following the end of the Civil War.
Musical celebration: Pharrell Williams, 47, and Black-ish creator Kenya Barris, 45, are in talks with Netflix to make a musical film about the Juneteenth holiday, according to Deadline
Williams and Barris have been working on a live Juneteenth musical since 2018, but their Netflix project is apparently separate.
News of the project comes only days after Williams joined Virginia Governor Ralph Northam to announce that Juneteenth would now be a paid state holiday moving forward.
Williams said the holiday deserves the same reverence as Independence Day, though it’s not currently a federal holiday, and only 47 states observe it.
‘Our country excels at celebrating Independence Day. Juneteenth deserves the same level of recognition. Here’s our day, and if you love us, it’ll be your day too,’ Williams said.
‘This is a very special moment. Very special. This is a big display of progress, and I’m grateful for Virginia and us leading the way,’ he continued.
Just starting: Williams and Barris’ talks are reportedly in the early stages, and the project is apparently separate from a live-action Juneteenth musical they’ve been working on since 2018; pictured Tuesday with Virginia Governor Ralph Northam
Progress: On Tuesday, Williams joined Virginia Governor Ralph Northam to announce that the state would be one of the first in the nation to make Juneteenth a paid state holiday
On Thursday, Williams made a video chat appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! to promote a Juneteenth holiday.
‘I just think it’s high time that if we’re gonna think about independence and what freedom really looks like, ours was never really acknowledged,’ the Oscar winner said.
‘I mean, yeah, there’s 47 states that observe [Juneteenth] but man, it’s not a paid holiday. We deserve a paid holiday.’
‘So I called [Governor Northam] and I just said, “Man, I just feel like this is important for not only your own legacy but for the legacy of Virginia. And if you would be willing to officiate this and make this a paid holiday, I will travel for the first time out of my house,”‘ he continued.
‘This is for not only me, but this is for my ancestors that absolutely came through on the hull of a ship in Virginia over 401 years ago. So for me, this was incredibly symbolic and it’s necessary.’
Overdue: ‘I just think it’s high time that if we’re gonna think about independence and what freedom really looks like, ours was never really acknowledged,’ Williams told Jimmy Kimmel on Thursday; pictured in March 2018
At Tuesday’s press conference, Northam said he thought Virginia would be only the second state to make Juneteenth a paid holiday.
‘It’s time we elevate this. We are changing what we honor in Virginia,’ he said of the June 19 commemoration. ‘Not just a celebration by and for some Virginians but one acknowledged and celebrated by all of us.’
‘That’s how important this event is. It finally shut the door on the enslavement of African–American people. And while it did not end racism, black oppression or violence, it is an important symbol. By commemorating it, we push people to think about the significance of Juneteenth,’ he said.
Juneteenth, a portmanteau of ‘June’ and ‘nineteenth,’ marks the date in 1865 when enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, were read the Emancipation Proclamation and learned that they had been freed.
Despite President Abraham Lincoln signing the proclamation in 1863, slave owners throughout the south continued to enslave people until months after the war had ended.
Back for more: On Blackout Tuesday, ABC rebroadcast Barris’ critically acclaimed Juneteenth episode of Black-ish; pictured Wednesday in Beverly Hills
Texas became the first state to officially celebrate Juneteenth in 1980, and for decades the holiday was primarily celebrated in Texas, before Black people throughout the US began to adopt it as a holiday to celebrate the end of all slavery in America.
Barris has previously used his television shows to advocate for making Juneteenth a national holiday.
Black-ish had its own Juneteenth episode, which ABC recently rebroadcast on Blackout Tuesday, when businesses were encouraged to halt normal operations to draw attention to systemic racism and police brutality.
Barris’ new Netflix series BlackAF, which he stars in, also has an episode featuring a Juneteenth party.