Today is Juneteenth, and much to my surprise and delight, it’s been trending on social media for two weeks. Juneteenth is not garnering attention because it’s been taught about in schools, or is a common practice outside of the Black community. The sudden notoriety and interest is the result of the confluence of two key factors: the continuing massive protests across the nation against police brutality and racism with the battle cry of “Black Lives Matter,” and the ugly, racist actions of the Orange Occupant of the White House and his enabling Republican minions.
All of a sudden, “Juneteenth” has entered the common vernacular. Though there have been presidential proclamations about it in the past, like this one from President Obama in 2009, and states have been adopting it as a holiday since the first one in Texas, on January 1, 1980, there are still millions of Americans who have little or no idea what Juneteenth means or represents for the Black Americans who celebrate this holiday.
I’d like to start out by giving credit where credit is due. The first legislation proposed to make Juneteenth a state holiday took place in Texas—via the efforts of Democratic State Representative Al Edwards. Sadly, he did not live to see what his initial efforts have wrought on this day. He passed away on April 29, 2020.
Texas is carrying on the tradition of fighting for Juneteenth; Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) is pushing for it to become a national holiday.
As Arthur Delaney reported for the Huffington Post, “Congress Could Make Juneteenth A National Holiday”:
“I cannot imagine this nation healing from the enormous and penetrating impact of race, racism and the history of slavery without officially acknowledging a day in the nation’s history that really speaks to freedom and independence for those who carried the burden of slavery,” Jackson Lee told HuffPost.“These past years of constant evidence of disparities in the African American community shows that the stain of slavery has not ended,” she said.
The federal government observes 11 national holidays, some respecting traditions such as Christmas and Thanksgiving, and others honoring military service and workers. Adding a holiday is pretty straightforward ― there doesn’t need to be a blue ribbon commission, a lengthy committee process or a major national conversation. Congress just needs to write a bill, vote on it and get the president’s signature. In addition to her “Juneteenth Independence Day” legislation that would make it an official holiday, Jackson Lee said she will also introduce a resolution commemorating the day’s importance and supporting “the continued celebration of Juneteenth Independence Day to provide an opportunity for the people of the United States to learn more about the past.”
The House and Senate have approved similar resolutions on Juneteenth in recent years, but Jackson Lee said this year’s version will have more than 200 original co-sponsors. Only 57 lawmakers co-sponsored last year’s, by comparison.
From Time, “Activists Are Pushing to Make Juneteenth a National Holiday. Here’s the History Behind Their Fight”:
Every year, Texas Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee introduces a resolution to recognize the historical significance of Juneteenth. Introduced June 15, this year it has more than 200 co-sponsors — and that’s not all: she also plans this week to introduce a bill to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. The road to such a holiday becoming a reality may be long, the Democrat acknowledges, noting it took nearly 20 years for Martin Luther King Jr. Day to become a national holiday, but she’s optimistic that the time is right for increasing awareness about slavery and how its legacy has carried over into modern racism.
“There needs to be a reckoning, an effort to unify. One thing about national holidays, they help educate people about what the story is,” Jackson Lee says. “Juneteenth legislation is a call for freedom, but it also reinforces the history of African Americans. We’ve fought for this country. We’ve made great strides, but we’re still the victims of sharp disparities. Our neighborhoods reflect that. We’ve been denied the same opportunities for housing, access to healthcare and, in 2020, [during] COVID-19, all of the glaring disparities are shown. Because of that, I think this is a time that we may find people who are desirous to understand the history not necessarily only of African Americans, but the history of America.”
Logging on to social media over the last few days, the number of politicians and corporations I’ve seen who have hopped onto the Juneteenth bandwagon is too long to list here. Attracting the most media attention were the announcements from the governors of Virginia and New York.
Corporations are joining in:
There have also been criticisms of some of the corporate announcements:
Chris Spags wrote:
...how are you going to be a team named after a legitimate slur against indigenous people and start acting woke? It’s like showing up to the protests as a cop and beating people up with no legal grounds. Oh, right, that actually happens. So maybe it’s more like being a President who’s advocated for violence against protestors organizing a rally at the location of an egregious historical race crime on Juneteenth? Nope wait, that happened too.
I did an advanced Twitter search and a Google News search for Juneteenth spanning coverage over the last 10 years, and the results were decidedly skimpy. For example, this 2014 tweet from Dr. Henry Louis Gates, who has 107,800 followers, got only 42 “hearts.”
Here at Daily Kos, some of the earliest posts tagged Juneteenth were “rescued.”
So I find this explosion of interest and attention hopeful—if it can be sustained. Watching all of this as an educator, I am pleased that enslavement history is now part of the national dialogue. As protests continue, I hope we will see discussion turn into legislation that addresses the history of systemic oppression we Black folks have faced for centuries in this nation.
Last year, President Obama tweeted:
I agree with POTUS Obama. We will never be truly emancipated until we have justice and equality.
“Happy Juneteenth,” folks. How are you celebrating or observing today?