What is Juneteenth?
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September 11, 2020
Happy Juneteenth, yall! If you’re like most people in this country, you probably don’t know what Juneteenth is, or why it suddenly popped up on your calendar this year. Like most Black history, the significance of this date was never taught in schools. In fact, none of my Black friends I asked grew up celebrating it, and some didn’t even know about it. So what is Juneteenth? I’m so glad you asked.
As we learned in school, on January 1, 1863 the Emancipation Proclamation was put into effect and all enslaved people were set free “forever.” However, what we didn’t learn is that it took two years for this news to travel down to the enslaved people in the confederate states. On June 19, 1865, word reached Texas and thousands of people were finally set free after years of torture. The date celebrates the true freedom of all enslaved people in the United States.
Thanks to the current Black Lives Matter movement, this important holiday is finally gaining some notoriety and is being celebrated across the country. Companies are recognizing Juneteenth as a paid holiday just like July 4 and people of all races are learning about the true history of this “great” nation. I, for one, am blown away by just how much my education was white-washed. I never learned about Tulsa or the several other race massacres. I never learned about Seneca Village. And it took me watching an episode of Atlanta (season 1, episode 9) a few years ago to learn about Juneteenth. No wonder there are so many people who don’t understand systemic racism in the United States.
Click here to sign the petition to make Juneteenth an official national holiday!
Traditional Juneteenth celebrations include parades, festivals, singing traditional songs, readings of famous words of Black leaders, and of course, just like July 4, barbecues. Personally, I’d rather celebrate Juneteenth than July 4th. After all, it isn’t the “land of the free” if only some of us are free.
One great way to celebrate Juneteenth is to donate to racial justice organizations like Black Lives Matter, NAACP, and Color of Change. Another cool initiative is launching today. It’s called My Black Receipt and the idea is to spend your dollar at a Black-owned business from today until July 4th. The goal is to reach $5 million total. Simply upload your receipt here to participate!
Had you ever heard of Juneteenth before this year? How will you be celebrating?
Photos by Ryan Carpenter.
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June 20, 2020 @ 8:49 am
It’s so crazy to me that none of this was taught in school. Never learned about Juneteenth or Tulsa……..among countless other things 🙁
June 22, 2020 @ 3:11 pm
Right?! The list goes on and on! Such important parts of American history and they’re just completely left out.
June 20, 2020 @ 6:10 pm
I’ve known about Juneteenth for quite a while. Our town has a few things to celebrate and has for years – I’m glad they were on the ball with it all!
June 22, 2020 @ 3:16 pm
Omg that’s amazing!!! I’m so happy to hear this! I would love to celebrate Juneteenth in a big way (when it’s safe to, of course). Your town was totally on the ball – as we all should have been!
June 21, 2020 @ 1:05 pm
I’m embarrassed to say that I didn’t know about Juneteenth until about a month ago – and I’m a former teacher. Pretty sad, isn’t it…?
June 22, 2020 @ 3:11 pm
It’s awful! I hate that things had to go this far for people to start waking up and learning more (myself included!), but I’m glad that such important parts of our history are finally being acknowledged.
June 21, 2020 @ 1:37 pm
Wow! I’ve never heart of that. I mean, I’m spaniard so, somehow, I “don’t need to know this stuff”, but still…
Anyways, happy Juneteenth! And thank you for sharing the right history.
xx
Eli
http://www.curly-style.com
June 22, 2020 @ 3:03 pm
Absolutely! It’s so important! I really can’t believe how much we DIDN’T learn in school. Truly crucial parts of history.
June 22, 2020 @ 10:02 am
I didn’t know too much about Juneteenth until a few years ago but I’m so glad that more people are getting educated about it now. It’s crazy how little emphasis certain things about Black history were just completely ignored in our history classes! Makes me wonder how much more I’m missing and it makes me want to do more research!
June 22, 2020 @ 3:02 pm
I completely agree! I’m honestly blown away by how much I’m learning now that I’m doing my own research. The history we were taught in school was so white-washed!
June 28, 2020 @ 5:50 pm
I’d never really heard of Juneteenth either until this gets! Pretty interesting and crazy to think about
✨Morgs*
June 29, 2020 @ 10:04 am
It IS crazy, isn’t it?! I’m astonished at how much we DIDN’T learn about truly important parts of our country’s history. I really hope that changes for students going forward.