Commemorate while you can

Now that King TACO has tried to drag us into another Middle East war (apparently his big bunker busting bombs failed to do the job he hoped they would), something he deceitfully promised he wouldn’t do when he ran for reelection, may I share something with you that has always bothered me?

I have been a bit ambivalent about Juneteenth, the latest federal holiday our nation commemorates on June 19th.

Please allow me to clarify - I’ve never been ambivalent about the extraordinary American history that the holiday is based on. How, on June 19th, 1865, chattel slavery officially came to an end in the state of Texas, and the Emancipation Proclamation was officially enforced there. Because slavery came to an end after the Civil War at different times in different places, former enslaved men and women of African descent throughout the South were given their freedom at different times. 

Enslaved people in the state of Texas were among the last to get the word about the end of slavery, almost two years after Pres. Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.

The earliest Juneteenth celebrations historically began in 1866 in black churches throughout Texas, and spread across the South in the 1920s and 30s. Thanks to the Great Migration of black people from the South to the West, Midwest and the North, those celebrations eventually spread throughout the nation.

Texas officially recognized Juneteenth by proclamation in 1938, and ever since then, different municipalities across the country have, in some way, recognized the historic day until 2021, when it was formally made a federal holiday and signed into law as “Juneteenth National Independence Day” by Pres. Joe Biden.

“We have to remember, our country is founded on the promise of freedom; freedom for everybody," former Pres. Biden said during a Juneteenth commemoration at a black church in Galveston, Texas on June 19th last week, adding that signing the holiday into law was one of the “proudest moments” of his presidency.

"Too many people [today] are trying to erase our history,” Biden added.

Lord, ain’t that the truth!

So when you look up what the purpose of the Juneteenth federal holiday is supposed to be, it’s supposed to commemorate ‘the end of slavery in America.”

OK, so given the illustrious history I’ve outlined above, what’s my problem? After all, I am black. I am a proud African-American, aren’t I?

Ya darn tooten, and always will be! But that doesn’t keep me from questioning the obvious.

How can we commemorate the “end of slavery” in this country, without ever having a real and full discussion as a nation about ending racism, about ending the very thing that fueled "America’s original sin" in the first place.

Oh sure, many have tried, most notably Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the 60’s civil rights movement. The poor man finally came to the conclusion that until we, as a nation, get to the point where judging one another by the content of our hearts and character was much more important than by the color of our skin, we would always deny our nation, and ourselves, the fullness of freedom, and the creed that we’re all supposed to uphold and live by, that all men created by Almighty GOD are equal in His sight, and equal under law.

I call Dr. King the “poor man,” because he gave all he had to help us see, and live out his vision for us, and here it is, 57 years after his death, and we still can’t get it right, and yet we want to celebrate the end of slavery.

There’s someone who posts on the social media platform Substack named Kahil Greene, who recently wrote:

Auschwitz exists solely as a memorial and museum (as it should).

No one hosts weddings where people suffered and died. No corporation books team-building retreats there.

Yet across America, brides defend plantation weddings by claiming they’re “embracing history.”

         But what about this history is beautiful, exactly?

The rape? The whipping posts? The family separations?

America’s refusal to reckon with slavery continues.

Another insightful writer, Vann R. Newkirk II for The Atlantic Daily, recently opined:

The purpose of Juneteenth was always a celebration of emancipation, of the Black community’s emergence out of our gloomy past. But it was also an implicit warning that what had been done could be done again. Now millions of schoolchildren will enjoy a holiday commemorating parts of our history that the federal government believes might be illegal to teach them about.

So no, I don’t want Americans to stop celebrating and commemorating the historical significance of Juneteenth, but I DO want us to demand that the country we all live in and say we love, one day, or two days, or two years, or however long it takes, have that very difficult conversation about the state of race relations in this country, how the legacy of slavery contributed to it, and what we have to do to eradicate the disease.

        Because racism IS a disease, a uniquely human disease that exposes a serious sickness of the heart and soul. It has historically manifested itself in shameful episodes like slavery, segregation, lynchings, police brutality, denial of civil rights, decrepit educational opportunities, cultural devaluation and theft, and social ostracism.

        What I'm proposing will take real leadership. Normally that would be the president, like Clinton or Obama, both of whom tried twice, but failed. The Republicans made sure of that.

          Since we all know in our hearts of hearts that King TACO isn't about to ever attempt such a thing, that leaves the real leadership role to us, and different people like us, who know, deep down, that this could be, and should be a better country if we tried.

          Real leadership on the ground, in varying communities far and wide, black, white, yellow and brown, picking up the mantle, and leading the way forward, and toward mutual understanding. Media could be an effective conduit for messaging and bringing people together.

          Perhaps having national holidays like Juneteenth and the third Monday of every January devoted to commemorating the life and legacy of Dr. King are golden opportunities for us to have that national conversation across racial barriers, instead of pretending that most of us get it, when we actually don’t.

Whatever we do, we better hurry up, because the guy we unaffectionately call “King TACO,” is talking about getting rid of national holidays he has a problem with. And judging from the disdain he’s already demonstrated towards anything even remotely smacking of pro-diversity or anti-white supremacy,  you know that getting rid of both the King Holiday and Juneteenth are definitely on his to-do list.

"Too many non-working holidays in America," Trump wrote on his Truth Social on Juneteenth June 19th last week. "It is costing our Country $BILLIONS OF DOLLARS to keep all of these businesses closed."

"The workers don't want it either!" he continued. "Soon we'll end up having a holiday for every once working day of the year. It must change if we are going to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"

No customary statement from the White House acknowledging the significance of Juneteenth on behalf of the president. Not even a positive word towards Black voters about Juneteenth, probably because he’s not running for anything now.

Just a rhetorical warning shot to prepare all of us for his eventual steam cleaning of our national holiday calendar to remove any hint of diversity, because after all, in his eyes and half-a-mind, it’s unAmerican.

And King TACO is not the only one.

Last week, our NC Senate decided to pick Juneteenth to advance a bill that, if passed (the NC House has already ratified it) would ban DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) policies and programs from all of state government.

And state Senate Republicans picked a rookie House Republican of color, the only one, to present the bill in the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing discussing it.

Talk about operating in the spirit of the holiday!

Trump doesn’t want a national conversation on race. The very last time we came close to having one besides Dr. King and the 60s civil rights movement was after the police murder of George Floyd in May 2020, and you see how it’s only taken less than five years for all of the good will that innocent black man’s death produced to be dismantled.

And Trump is a major reason for that.

Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says, “Juneteenth calls us to understand the realities of black Americans, and align the course of our country toward its founding creed of liberty and justice for all.”

Bishop William Barber said on June 19th last week, “It would be a dangerous thing for us to turn Juneteenth into a party. It should be a day for us to assess what memos we need to make sure we don’t miss today.”

No, I personally need Juneteenth to mean more than just a commemoration of an important historical event in American history. I need for all of my fellow citizens to embrace it, not just as the end of slavery, but the eventual end of racism. Or at least work to TRY to make that happen.

Impossible you say? Man’s heart is man’s heart, and he will always be prone to discriminate, and dominate based on perceived birthright superiority?

Well, I counter that while your point is well made, and there's sufficient evidence to support that, in my experience the power of love is greater. I know it is, I’ve seen it, felt it, been a part of it when people of all different stripes and backgrounds absolutely refuse to allow who they are or what they were born as separate them from their common humanity.

If we can collectively, and earnestly do that, then to me, Juneteenth is well worth keeping as a national holiday, because then it truly becomes not just a celebration…a celebration of the end of slavery, but also, the end of racism, and the reaffirmation of humanity.

And to me, there is no more important time to make a valiant national effort to achieve that aspirational goal, than right now, while we all confront  perhaps the greatest force for evil we’ve all ever collectively faced, whose one goal is to keep us divided for his own selfish purposes. 

Celebrate Juneteenth and the King holiday while you can, America, but please don’t make them empty, perfunctory commemorations. Make them really mean something for ALL of us, so that we can survive these current years of hate and turmoil….together.