A Reflection on Juneteenth
Image of Military Orders by General Graham Granger, 1821-1876, Wikimedia Commons / Public domain
Sometime in May, I was scrolling through Twitter, and saw a notice about a Juneteenth celebration that was being offered in Little Rock, Arkansas. Since CWACM had held a Justice Summit in Little Rock, I looked more closely. The poster shown on the tweet advertised “three floors of food” alongside a large celebration. And then…. photos of the organizers of this Juneteenth celebration were displayed. Three. White. People.
In the past, I would have thought that was fantastic. How wonderful to fund a celebration. Not now. Not Juneteenth. Not more appropriation of a holiday that calls for deep reflection on my part as a white person. June 19, 1865 – two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation – enslaved people in Texas were informed that they were now “free.”
One of my first questions has remained, “why did it take so long?” Followed immediately by looking at the larger stain upon humanity that slavery ever existed, and that it continues to exist in different forms in the USA and around the world. Slavery profits those for whom the systems of power in the USA were designed. I am white, and remain one of the people responsible for the continued existence of those systems.
My work is to celebrate with Black people who mark Juneteenth as a community celebration. My work is also to continue to live more fully into my own humanity as I attempt to bring my own power alongside others working to change the ways we live in community. On our last Community Call, we were asked a question during our time of Centering, “what am I willing to accept in exchange for my freedom?”
What does freedom look like when no one is free until everyone is free? What does it take for change to happen?
To finish this particular story – there was such a strong and immediate pushback online, locally, and nationally concerning that particular Juneteenth celebration in Little Rock, that it was quickly cancelled.