Hello readers. Co-editor Gail here again this week with yet another holiday we should all be aware of.
This friday is the holiday known as Juneteenth, a combination of the words June and nineteenth which celebrates the freeing of the last black slaves in Texas in 1865. This was about two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation had formally freed them but due to Texas being a remote slave state with few Union troops, the news amd enforcement of the proclamation was slowed.
Celebrations started as early as 1866 and started as church gatherings in Texas. Over time, it spread across the south until it became more commercialized in the 1920’s-1930’s and often involved food festivals. After the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s, Juneteenth rose back to popularity in the 1970’s with a closer focus on African American arts.
Texas declared Juneteenth a an official state holiday in 1980 and in 1997, Ben Haith, the founder of the National Juneteenth Celebration Foundation created the official Juneteenth flag which heads this blog post.
Today, Juneteenth is recognized as a state holiday or day of observance in 47 states and there is now a push for it to be made into a federal holiday. Modern celebrations often include readings of the Emancipation Proclamation as well as work by famous black writers, the singing of songs such as “Swing Low Sweet Chariot” and “Let Every Voice Sing”, historical reenactments, street fairs, rodeos, cook outs, family reunions and parties in public parks.
Now what you may be thinking is
“I’m not black, why should I celebrate this? Is it even okay for me to celebrate it?”
OR
“Well this sounds really awesome and I would love to celebrate, but we’re in quarantine and can’t do any of those cool and fun outdoor events and gatherings.”
Well, as Americans regardless of race, it should be important for all of us to observe Juneteenth as it forces us to reckon with our government’s history of slavery and the systemic racism that has persisted to this day. It also reminds us that slavery in the world at large is still prevalent. The Global Slavery Index in 2018 estimated that 40.3 million individuals are currently in some form of modern slavery. As Juneteenth commemorates the freeing of those who were enslaved in the most deep-seated area of the confederacy, we too should not be turning our backs on any enslaved persons until they are all free, even if legislation has tricked us into thinking our work is done.
Overall, Juneteenth is simply a truer independence day than the fourth of July for all Americans. As Frederick Douglas stated in his famous speech “The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro” Douglas asks of his white listeners
“What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer; a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciation of tyrants, brass fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade and solemnity, are, to Him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy — a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages.There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of the United States, at this very hour.
Go where you may, search where you will, roam through all the monarchies and despotisms of the Old World, travel through South America, search out every abuse, and when you have found the last, lay your facts by the side of the everyday practices of this nation, and you will say with me, that, for revolting barbarity and shameless hypocrisy, America reigns without a rival….” (pbs.org).
Juneteeth is the day our independence as a nation became more equal as it expanded the label of who counts as an American.
As to how we can celebrate Juneteenth from quarantine, I would recommend doing some research and finding some black owned businesses in your area or online to support. Though we should always support black owned businesses, this year in particular there is a campaign called My Black Receipt to share your purchases from black owned businesses from Juneteenth to to July fourth. I bet I am not the only one who has been itching to impulse buy a treat for themselves. Why not have that sparkly new doodad, yummy bite to eat, or self care product come from a black owner or creator?
If you don’t have the ability to spend money, you can continue to educate yourself and others and support black creators by reading and listening to the work that can be accessed and shared for free online and elsewhere.
So this year, I hope you will all join me in making Juneteenth a tradition in your life. The majority of us, including myself, have been oblivious to it for too long.
Ways you can help:
Official George Floyd Memorial Fund
National Police Accountability Project
Unicorn Riot Alternative Media
Say their names:
George Floyd
Breonna Taylor
Ahmaud Arbery
Tony McDade
Rayshard Brooks
Oluwatoyin Salau
Robert Fuller
Malcolm Harsch
Tshegofatso Pule
Dominique “Rem’mie” Fells
Riah Milton
BLACK LIVES MATTER
BLACK TRANS LIVES MATTER