Sadly, the most prominent thought I have about Juneteenth is that I was never taught about Juneteenth in grade school. In fact, I remember having to pretend I knew exactly what Juneteenth was in college – I did attend an HBCU, ya know – before actually conducting my own research years later. My most prominent thought is always a shameful one, and sadly, that’s what I’m reminded of every June 19th. Then, I often ask myself, “why?”.
Perhaps my ignorance was due to an educational system that beat into my head the importance of praising our benevolent savior, Abraham Lincoln, for issuing the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. It wasn’t until after more than a decade of learning this way that I learned that the whole deal was a military strategy. And while I’m sure it was a move that garnered well-deserved praise from blacks and all caring citizen of this country during the time, and perhaps is still deserving of some credit, that context is important.
However, my lack of knowledge and awareness could have completely been due to my own ignorance, laziness and lack of curiosity at the time. As a millennial, I grew up in the age of technology and by the time I was in high school I had access to the entire world at home, at school and on the go. I can’t hold myself blameless in this information generation.
Now that I’m grown, only I would be responsible for the decision to remain clueless to such an important day and celebration of the culture – not only black culture but also American culture. I now understand that Juneteenth is the truest symbol of a new-found freedom and, while it was followed by new forms of violence and discrimination, it deserves to be celebrated. Today, every state agrees in principle with that statement with the exception of Hawaii, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota and South Dakota which still don’t observe Juneteenth as a holiday.
It’s one thing to recognize Juneteenth, but there must be some special ways to actually celebrate, right? I’m not going to pretend to have all the answers about proper ways to commemorate the day, but I do have one suggestion: if you’re black, don’t go to work. Take a personal day or mysteriously get sick if you must. At the very least, extend your lunch break an extra 30 minutes or so.
In all seriousness, I encourage you to join me in finding authentic and meaningful ways to celebrate. Whether your knowledge of Juneteenth is far-reaching and well established or you’re still growing and learning, find a way to make it count. This story isn’t going to tell itself, and even now that it gets more attention than ever before, it’s still grossly overlooked and underappreciated. With just a little effort we can learn and equip ourselves to prevent others from having to have this revelation about our history and culture so late. Happy week of Juneteenth! Don’t forget to celebrate next year.
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