Happy Juneteenth

Today is Juneteenth.

“What’s that?” you may ask.

Juneteenth celebrates the freeing of American slaves.  155 years ago, today - two and a half years AFTER the Emancipation Proclamation was signed and the Civil War was over.  Texas got word that slavery was over.  

Let us consult my favorite second brain, Wikipeidia, for further details...

“Juneteenth (a portmanteau of June and nineteenth), also known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, and Cel-Liberation Day, is an American holiday celebrated annually on June 19. It commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union general Gordon Granger read federal orders in Galveston, Texas, that all previously enslaved people in Texas were free. Although the Emancipation Proclamation had formally freed them almost two and a half years earlier, and the American Civil War had largely ended with the defeat of the Confederate States in April, Texas was the most remote of the slave states, with a low presence of Union troops, so enforcement of the proclamation had been slow and inconsistent.

Celebrations date to 1866, at first involving church-centered community gatherings in Texas. It spread across the South and became more commercialized in the 1920s and 1930s, often centering on a food festival. During the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, it was eclipsed by the struggle for postwar civil rights, but grew in popularity again in the 1970s with a focus on African American freedom and arts. By the 21st century, Juneteenth was celebrated in most major cities across the United States. Activists are pushing Congress to recognize Juneteenth as a national holiday. Juneteenth is recognized as a state holiday or special day of observance in 47 of the 50 states.

Modern observance is primarily in local celebrations. Traditions include public readings of the Emancipation Proclamation, singing traditional songs such as "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" and "Lift Every Voice and Sing", and reading of works by noted African-American writers such as Ralph Ellison and Maya Angelou. Celebrations include rodeos, street fairs, cookouts, family reunions, park parties, historical reenactments, and Miss Juneteenth contests. The Mascogos, descendants of Black Seminoles, of Coahuila, Mexico, also celebrate Juneteenth.”

I first heard about Juneteenth around 2002ish.  I had not heard of the occasion prior to that and I had to do some investigating on the topic.  Now, either I was not in class when it was taught or it, simply, wasn’t taught.  It is, most likely, the latter.  There are so many things that have missed our history text books.  So, what is Juneteenth?  Juneteenth celebrates the last domino to fall concerning the news that slavery had been abolished.  It happened in, Galveston Texas.  Once Texas recognized the Emancipation Proclamation—slavery was over.  Unfortunately, Jim Crow started to go into effect soon afterwards reinforcing systemic oppression and segregation, but to victory of slavery being abolished deserves to be celebrated. The fresh horrors that Jim Crow would bring are staggering and helped pound a racial wedge through our society helping an already racist system become further segregated. Juneteenth should be a celebration.  In all honesty, it should replace Columbus Day as a National Holiday. 

Frankly, we have failed ourselves by not teaching our own history.  It’s been whitewashed.  Literally.  This needs to be recognized, taught, accepted, and learned.  Education is key to addressing systemic racism.  We must, therefore, educate.  Not tell fabrications, half-truths, or omit.  Our history needs to be acknowledged so that when someone says, “There is no such thing as systemic racism in America.” We can hear those words and know that this person is either ignorant of their own history or a bigot who benefits from keeping someone else down.  Ignorance and bigotry are staples of American culture.

This must end.

Happy Juneteenth.