It’s remembering our history and keeping it from being whitewashed! It’s based on an event in Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865. Union/Federal troops arrived there that day and declared that the 250,000 plus enslaved people were, in fact, now free. Over 2 years after the Emancipation Proclamation freedom finally happened at the last slavery stronghold in the United States.
“Do I Have To Repeat Myself!” History. This was one of many marvelous signs at the June 14 anti-fascism/No Kings protest that I attended in Denver. Juneteenth is a day to celebrate that we in this country finally recognized and acted on the inhumanity of enslaving people. Resist attempts to rewrite our history. A country becomes stronger when we admit our mistakes and take steps to mitigate their impact.
Slavery in this country (and anywhere) is inherently cruel. It’s an extreme example of exploitative capitalism. Enslaved females were often raped by their masters and overseers. Enslaved men, women, and, yes, children were often whipped, abused, denied education, and shorn of their culture and heritage. Juneteenth is a time to celebrate freedom and not the crimes against Black humanity that existed during slavery. Nevertheless, it does not mean we should forget those crimes nor purge them from our history. Let’s not make History repeat herself.
Many Black Americans still suffer from indignities, overt and covert racism, suppression of rights, and systemic barriers, all of which weaken their voice, self-respect, economic equality, power, and path to a hopeful future.
Acknowledge and celebrate Juneteenth by taking an action, making a donation, or supporting in some way an organization such as the Children’s Defense Fund Freedom Schools [https://www.childrensdefense.org/our-work/cdf-freedom-schools/locations/], Black Voters Matter [https://blackvotersmatterfund.org/our-purpose/], the NAACP [https://naacp.org/], or West Harlem Environmental Action [http://weact.org/].
Celebrate our HISTORY; JUNETEENTH is part of that!
An enslaved man’s back from whipping.