Why Every American Should Celebrate Juneteenth

Marc H. Morial 
President and CEO
National Urban League

 

“Juneteenth means so much to me. It represents the freedom that my ancestors fought so tirelessly for. But rather than focusing on the brutalization of my people then and now. I choose to focus on hope. June 19th reminds me that I am the force of power to change this world and to follow in the footsteps of my ancestors to work towards liberation.”  — Mariah Cooley 
 
Juneteenth originated in the June 19, 1865, federal proclamation that Major General Gordon Granger brought with him when he arrived Galveston to take command of federal troops deployed to enforce the emancipation of its enslaved population and oversee Reconstruction.
 
But it is a narrow view that recognizes Juneteenth simply as a commemoration of the end of legal slavery in the United States. After all, slavery did not officially end in slavery did not end in Kentucky and Delaware until December 1865, when the 13th Amendment was ratified.
 
We could view Juneteenth, instead of an end, as a beginning, the birth of possibility and freedom for Black Americans to advance and live as full citizens of the U.S.  But the end of Reconstruction and the dawn of Jim Crow crushed that possibly for nearly a century, until passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,
 
What, then, does Juneteenth represent at this moment in history, when we are in the midst of the most vicious backlash against racial justice in generations?  Since 2023, at least 85 anti-DEI bills have been introduce in 28 states and the U.S. Congress, with 14 being signed into law. The “Dismantle DEI Act,” a bill introduced by Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, would disband DEI programs and sever funding for any related initiatives at the federal level. Teachers are afraid to teach American history or even acknowledge systemic and historic racism. Well-funded anti-racial justice activists are flooding the courts with lawsuits intended to keep the gates of authority and influence locked tight against Black women and other marginalized people.

To me, Juneteenth represents hope. It represents persistence. It represents the ongoing journey of a flawed nation fitfully striving to live up to the promise of its founding premise: a more perfect Union.
 
In 2021, for the first time in history, a U.S. President launched his term in office with an acknowledgment of “the unbearable human costs of systemic racism” and pledged “a comprehensive approach to advancing equity for all, including people of color and others who have been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality.”
 
Juneteenth is an opportunity to honor ourselves and our progress as a nation, allowing our optimism to flourish for the future of civil and human rights we are building every day.  
 
While Juneteenth is a celebration, it is also still a fight. It will always be a reminder and example of what has been done, and can be done for equality, pushing us harder and further in our advocacy. 

We will continue, staying vigilant and empowering one another, to ensure our future. 
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