Juneteenth is gaining new national attention after weeks of protest against racism and police brutality (and, weirdly, after Donald Trump’s initial plan to hold a rally on June 19 drew an outcry—thanks, Donald?), with momentum growing to make the day commemorating Black emancipation a national holiday. Juneteenth is observed in some way by 47 states and the District of Columbia, but that’s a different matter from a federal holiday. Now, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee will introduce legislation to do that … and so will Sen. John Cornyn, a Republican. Many companies have also made Juneteenth a holiday this year, including Twitter, Square, Nike, JCPenney, and more.
This sudden observance on the part of white America of a day long celebrated by Black America could ring extremely hollow. The challenge is following up with action and education. But Jamaal Bowman, a Daily Kos-endorsed candidate for Congress in New York (help him out by chipping in $3!), argues in The Nation that making Juneteenth a federal holiday would be an important step that “would provide space for growth as a nation. It’s a day for celebration, but also a day for education.”
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“Many American students graduate high school without ever learning the true horrors of American chattel slavery: the fact that slaves were viciously beaten and often lynched if they ever tried to escape; that parents, children, and partners could be separated and never seen again; that slaves weren’t allowed to read and write; and the unique horrors that black women endured, including medical experimentation and rape,” Bowman wrote. In that context, and the context of today’s racism and inequality, he argues, “Recognizing Juneteenth on a federal level would be a major step toward acknowledging the sins of our history, and toward building a genuine multiracial democracy where all of us are finally, truly free.”
Still, recognizing one day as a holiday isn’t enough, which is why Bowman pairs his call for Juneteenth to be a federal holiday with a #ReconstructionAgenda. And in 2020, Juneteenth will be an opportunity for continuing activism. “As of Thursday, organizers with the Movement for Black Lives said they had registered more than 275 Juneteenth weekend events across 45 states, through its website,” the AP reports.
But Juneteenth 2020 will also be what the day has long been: a celebration, and as white America decides to embrace Juneteenth, that history, too, should be understood and honored along with the need to learn the history of slavery and acknowledge—and combat—the ongoing racism of this country.
“Whether companies and governments get it right or not, black-led celebrations will remain the heart of Juneteenth. Early events venerated black Civil War veterans and were mainly held in private places that could be shielded from the white gaze,” Kellie Carter Jackson writes at The Atlantic. “Later ones were marked by reunions, parades, and symbolic foods like strawberry soda, red beans and rice, red velvet cake, and watermelon (the color red represents the perseverance of black ancestors). Black churches often spearheaded the day’s programming, which could include speeches from children who memorized quotes from their favorite black heroes, or singing of the black national anthem, ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing.’ Post-World War II commemorations were not complete until someone read the Emancipation Proclamation aloud.”
“Juneteenth is a celebratory event but we’re not celebrating the country. We’re celebrating our own freedom and our own ability to be liberated and the resiliency of black people,” Black Voters Matter co-founder LaTosha Brown told the AP.