As you can hardly help being aware, today is Juneteenth--long celebrated by the Black community in remembrance of the day news of Emancipation came to Texas--two and a half years overdue. Now, in a rare show of bi-partisanship, Juneteenth has become a national holiday.
I applaud this action--at the same time realizing that it does nothing to address the ongoing indignities and injustices suffered by most, if not all, Black Americans. This new holiday could be the beginning of a national exploration of the legacy of slavery and Jim Crow. Or it could be co-opted into cookouts and white sales.
And while the Right pats itself on the back for signing on to this holiday, they will continue to demand silence in schools about racial injustice.
It's not an acceptable tradeoff.
There's an excellent essay on the subject HERE, by
3 comments:
I agree, a token holiday that might or might not make any difference...it depends upon whether whites are really going to treat their people of color neighbors any differently. I laugh when I think how white people will soon be a minority. Ha ha.
Good post to bring a sense of balance to the day.
It was disgusting that Republicans tried to cover up their refusal to support other important legislation that will begin to rectify our horrible history towards those descended from slavery and others with dark skin including native peoples. Voting for this holiday does not burnish their images in my mind.
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