All across the country you've been hearing of large corporations like Nike give their employees the day of June 19th, or Juneteenth, the day off. There have even been towns and governments making it a paid holiday. But why all of a sudden? It seems like just last year, nobody was really talking about Juneteenth and it went from a day that people may have heard of to a day that everybody and their mama wants to celebrate.
While some think that having another "Black day off" is a good thing, others believe we should use it as a call to action. Not to party or indulge in "Juneteenth sales" or celebrate "drink specials" at your local club, but to have a meaningful day of planning, strategy and action to manifest the dreams of our ancestors.
But to get a better hold on HOW to celebrate, we've got to know WHAT the actual holiday is:
The History
Juneteenth originated 153 years ago today when General George Granger delivered the news of freedom to the slaves in Galveston, Texas a small town about an hour southeast of Houston. Some believe it took two years to spread the word because plantation owners in the deep south were still angry about losing the Civil War and wanted to exploit their slaves as long as they could.
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For more than 150 years they built their wealth and livelihood on an oppressive system where our ancestors were mere pieces of property to them and their families. The truly horrific truth is that these same types of acts are being perpetrated on our people and in our communities and still reverberate throughout our justice and economic systems today.
Why it's important
It’s essential that we educate our kids and ourselves about our proud and resilient history. We can do that by
all the usual methods of learning: reading books, watching movies and visiting museums that explain history from our perspective. When we are exposed to the struggles and achievements of our ancestors, we get to see the strength and unbreakable spirit of a group of people who were kidnapped from their homeland and ripped of their identity and heritage.
We also come to gain a greater understanding of those who wanted to persevered their way of living no matter how inhumane others may have been treated. They vehemently wanted things to go back to how it used to be and enacted laws and corrupt systems to ensure that happened. It’s insane how people still think and act that way and feel justified to do so under our current leadership. But we, as always, are able to endure and overcome these adversities just as our enslaved ancestors did.
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What you can do today
Go after your dreams/Start a business. What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?" like Langston Hughes so eloquently wrote. Our ancestors had dreams and they wrapped them up in you (yes, you)! So, take steps on this day to move even closer of your goals. Even if it's to register a business or take steps to open a non-profit or meet with other businesses to create a community partnership, every step forward is a step in the right direction.
Create a group that works together. It's one thing to scream "Juneteenth" and "Black Lives Matter" but if we're not supporting each other or at least working together, then there is not unity. And without unity, we can't mobile and accomplish more. So, if you're a man, maybe help out a Black women's organization. Or if you're a woman, maybe volunteer for a Black men's support group. Or let's all help our senior citizens and elders, as well as do something for the LGBTQ community...you get the point. When we do it together, we all win.
Watch Season 4 Episode 1 of Blackish where Dre uses music and historical reenactments to tell the story of slavery and the true meaning of freedom.
Talk to your older family members to get a better understanding of their lives and the prejudices they endured and overcame. This is also agreat way to share how similar our collective stories are.
Start a family tree. Trace your family genealogy to determine where they traveled from during the Great Migration – a 60-year exodus where an estimated 60 million African-Americans left the south and migrated north for a better life.
Start a Juneteenth celebration in your community or at your school especially if you live in a multi-racial community. It’s not just our history but our country’s collective history, and it should not be swept under the rug.
It’s vital that we share our history and our stories with our family in order to
