Juneteenth: America’s Other Independence Day
Written by Dr. Karen Smith, PhD
“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”
- Maya Angelou
I did not grow up celebrating Juneteenth. In fact, I first became aware of it only recently. And so writing about this now nationally recognized holiday from my white, late-to–the-party perspective seems fraught. And yet, Maya Angelou’s voice echoes in my head: “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” Juneteenth is an opportunity for all of us to do better by celebrating, reflecting, and then answering the call to action in the ongoing fight against racism and white supremacy in America today.
Juneteenth is the celebration of the day when Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas and announced that all enslaved people were free. Although Abraham Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation 2 ½ years earlier, simply saying that all persons held as slaves shall be free did not make it so. The act of emancipation was (and still is) a bloody process that was met with fierce resistance. Texas was the last and furthest outpost of Confederate resistance. Therefore, General Granger’s announcement on June 19, 1865 was a surprise – and cause for great celebration – amongst the freed men and women in Galveston.
Within the African American community, Juneteenth has long been observed as a festive celebration of resilience, joy, and remembrance. It became an official national holiday only last summer – and now all Americans have the opportunity to take a day off work and participate in this meaningful commemoration. Everyone is invited to the barbecue!
Some people with ancestors who were never enslaved may ask what relevance Juneteenth has for them. They may see it as disconnected from their personal story. I disagree.
Juneteenth is truly America’s Other Independence Day, the day when our vision of freedom expanded beyond its narrow beginnings.
It offers us all a moment to pause and reflect on what it means – and what it takes – to live free in our country. To reckon with our past as a slaveholding nation. To reflect on the continuing racial oppression in our society. To recommit to a future free of supremacist barriers to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all.
But as history teaches us, simply proclaiming it doesn’t make it so. Wearing the Juneteenth t-shirt doesn’t make it so. Posting the quote on social media doesn’t make it so. Lasting, meaningful change is a bloody, prolonged process. There is a wide gulf between the idea of freedom for all and the work that is required for that idea to be realized.
In the words of Fannie Lou Hammer: “Nobody’s free until everybody’s free.”
The struggle is ongoing, and we need each other now more than ever.
This very special holiday is an opportunity to celebrate, to connect, and to commit to doing better. Use the day to rest, relax, and reflect. And then reach out to someone with a story different from your own. Listen. Ask questions. Keep listening. Offer your support where it might be useful. Take action when you can. Juneteenth is a reminder that, while much progress has been made, there is more work for all of us to do.