As demonstrators advocate for black liberation across the country, today, we celebrate the 155th anniversary of a pivotal moment in African American history: Juneteenth. It is important to discuss the historical significance of Juneteenth, and why it should be listed as a federal holiday.
Juneteenth goes by many names – Emancipation Day, Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Cel-Liberation Day, Juneteenth Independence Day, and (my favorite) The Black Fourth of July. It commemorates and derives its name from June 19, 1865, the day Union Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger went to Galveston, Texas and issued an order that all enslaved African Americans were free. This comes nearly two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, emphasizing how tragically delayed the legislation was in liberating the last remaining slaves. There are many versions as to why it took so long, ranging from the messenger being murdered on his way to Texas with news of freedom, to federal troops allowing former slave owners one last cotton harvest before enforcing the proclamation. I personally believe that former plantation owners purposely withheld the information so they could continue reaping the benefits of slave labor.
The most significant part of Granger’s order was “an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employee and hired laborer.” This gave African Americans hope that they could finally progress and gain access to certain opportunities in this country. Recently emancipated slaves officially celebrated their first Juneteenth a year later in 1866. Juneteenth was full of many festivities, such as food, singing, dancing, prayer services, and seminars for self-improvement. Black people were able to reflect and enjoy their newfound progress.
Unfortunately, Juneteenth wasn’t really known outside of the black community, some African Americans didn’t even know that the holiday existed. I admittedly was one of them. I didn’t know Juneteenth was a thing until sophomore year of high school, and that’s only because I saw an event flyer sticking out from underneath my teacher’s desk. The main reason Juneteenth isn’t more widely-recognized is because they rarely teach it in schools (shocker). They don’t teach a lot of black history in school, especially during the most crucial periods of development, which is grade school to high school. The education system briefly glosses over slavery and the civil rights movement, failing to highlight the historical events that transpired in between.
According to the Juneteenth historical website “Classroom and textbook education in lieu of traditional home and family-taught practices stifled the interest of the youth due to less emphasis and detail on the lives of former slaves. Classroom textbooks proclaimed Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863 as the date signaling the ending of slavery – and mentioned little or nothing of the impact of General Granger’s arrival on June 19th.” The lack of proper education is so severe that Donald Trump falsely claimed he made Juneteenth “very famous.” He stated that “nobody had ever heard of” the holiday before he brought it up. He also received criticism for scheduling his rally the day after Juneteenth in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Tulsa formerly housed “Black Wall Street,” a mecca of prominent black-owned shops and businesses that were burned down on June 1, 1921. This year marks 99 years since the massacre. The carnage resulted in the deaths of an estimated 300 African Americans.
Revamping the U.S. school curriculum should be a national priority. It’s far too evident that many white Americans don’t fully understand the history of the black community in this country. They fail to grasp that systemic racism and injustice limits opportunities for African Americans. This is why there is such a mass white resistance towards reparations, with the excuse that slavery happened centuries ago and didn’t “directly affect” its descendants. There is no sense of shared ownership, sympathy, or responsibility among white Americans to help their fellow citizens. That’s one of the reasons why there’s so much gaslighting and deflecting, and why former NFL player Colin Kaepernick faced immense criticism for kneeling during the national anthem. Although the Black Lives Matter movement grows and more white Americans are answering the call, there is still a hesitation to create tangible steps that make the goals of BLM a reality.
Getting back to the main point of this post, the biggest insult to Juneteenth participants and supporters however, is the government’s reluctance to make it a federal holiday. In 1980, Texas became the first state to recognize Juneteenth as a state holiday. It was the only state to recognize the day as an official holiday until the governors of New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia announced that they would designate it as a paid holiday for its state employees. As of 2020, all but three states (different sources have different numbers) recognize the date as a ceremonial holiday or observance. Recently, corporations like Nike and Twitter, stated that they would observe Juneteenth as a formal, paid company holiday, with many businesses following suit. However, the bill to make Juneteenth an official U.S. holiday has collected dust on the Congressional floor.
Due to the current racial and political climate, there has been mounting pressure from activists and BLM supporters for Juneteenth to finally be recognized as a federal holiday. I agree with these sentiments. Black people built this country. The very foundation of the United States rests on the backs of enslaved African Americans doing hard labor for free. Cotton, sugar, tobacco, and other cash crop enterprises not only sustained the economy, but transformed The United States into a global superpower. Slaves made the agricultural-dependent South wealthy, built the national monuments that many Americans and tourists covet today, and discovered technological advancements that often go uncredited, it was their labor that was integral to the economic growth of this country. African Americans should at least have the right to celebrate their ancestors’ emancipation and achievements.
It’s illogical that Christopher Columbus, a man who looted the Native Americans of their homes, has a federal holiday dedicated to him, but the black slaves who made real contributions are ignored. Not to mention, Columbus is depicted in U.S. textbooks as a hero, meanwhile, black slaves barely get a chapter and a reading assignment in your 8th grade history class. As an African American person, I can’t celebrate The Fourth of July now that I’m older and know its true significance. The Fourth was never a holiday designated for me. My ancestors were still in bondage when the founding fathers were drafting the Declaration of Independence, a document that primarily benefited white men and provided loopholes to continue subjugating my people. How can I possibly watch fireworks, lick popsicles, and have pride in a country that stole me from my home, used my great grandparents as free labor, and treats me like a second-class citizen?
I read an Instagram post that said The U.S. is lucky black people just want recognition and not revenge. We’re free from bondage in the literal sense, but not legally, financially, or politically. For generations (400-plus years), the African American community has faced systemic hardships mandated by the federal government. The progress that newly-freed slaves enjoyed would be short-lived. The reconstruction era (1865-1877) was a period of prosperity for black people as they rose to higher political and economic positions, but a host of factors would abruptly end that. Republican separation from racial egalitarianism, a series of Supreme Court decisions, mounting political pressure from southern delegations in presidential campaigns, and the federal government retreating from its responsibility of safeguarding the rights of former slaves, all contributed to issues that plague African Americans today.
Let’s jump to the turn of the 20th century. Jim Crow effectively dismantled many gains made by African Americans during reconstruction. We all know by now the restrictive practices Jim Crow enforced, so I’m not going to give a full breakdown. If you want more information on how the legacy of Jim Crow affected black people, check out my post on reparations. Slave descendants continue to experience the ripple effects of institutionalized racism and are simply asking for a chance to be loved, acknowledged, and celebrated.
When conducting research, the Juneteenth website also revealed that cultural and economic circumstances prevented Juneteenth from having more momentum. There was an open pushback to black people using public spaces for celebrations, so former slaves and their descendants would host festivities in rural areas near rivers and creeks. During the Great Depression, employers in urban communities were unwilling to allow leaves to celebrate Juneteenth, forcing many people to wait for the years when the holiday fell on a weekend. Even then, political and financial institutions systematically discouraged black people from celebrating their independence and heritage. Juneteenth saw a resurgence in celebrations during the height of the Civil Rights movement. African Americans preached pan-Africanism and took pride in their rich history and cultural roots. Many African American youth connected with their ancestors in the fight for justice and equal opportunities. Institutions such as the Smithsonian and Henry Ford Museums now sponsor Juneteenth-related activities, but people are still actively campaigning for it to be federally observed across the country.
This brings me to my final conclusion. The reason why the federal government refuses to observe Juneteenth as an official holiday, is because they would have to acknowledge America’s dark past. Slavery was a terrible staple of United States history that was plagued with horror, brutality, and generational trauma. It serves as a national embarrassment to the United States to publicly confirm that the reason why this country is “so great” is because slaves made it that way. Through whippings and chains, they survived to pass on their stories. And now their great grandchildren are relaying them in vivid detail. The U.S. is desperately trying to erase its wrongdoing but the harder they hide it, the more the truth seeks to prevail. I’ve read articles about Congressmen and women proposing bills to finally make Juneteenth a holiday. It’s disappointing that it took a global movement and mounting backlash to prompt change, but that’s what demonstrations do, encourage legislative action.
Juneteenth should be celebrated because it represents freedom and African American achievement. Despite enduring harsh conditions former slaves were still able to rise. Juneteenth promotes black unity and excellence, while encouraging African Americans to reflect on the state of their growth. It also solidifies that the slaves of Galveston Texas and the rest of the nation are never forgotten, and their legacies and spirits live on. Juneteenth is important because it allows African Americans to never forget their culture or their past. Once you learn your history, you’re better equipped for prevailing in the future.
8 Ways To Celebrate Juneteenth:
https://hellogiggles.com/lifestyle/how-to-celebrate-juneteenth/
Best Books To Read About Black History:
https://www.today.com/popculture/12-best-black-history-month-books-2019-t147914
Top 15 Civil Rights Songs That Promote Freedom and Justice:
https://www.blackenterprise.com/15-awesome-empowering-motivational-songs-playlist-civil-rights/
Best Black Movies Of The Last 30 Years:
https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/the-best-black-movies-of-the-last-30-years/
Additional sources:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/thehill.com/homenews/politics-101/503538-what-is-juneteenth%3famp
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/06/juneteenth-national-holiday-mlk-day.html
https://www.texastribune.org/2020/06/18/john-cornyn-juneteenth-holiday/
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