What’s the appropriate way for people to celebrate Juneteenth? For one, it’s important to know the history; today commemorates the day in 1865 when enslaved people in Galveston, Texas learned they had been freed. The Emancipation Proclamation had been signed by Lincoln a full two years earlier, but many in the South weren’t made aware, for reasons that really shouldn’t need explaining.
So this weekend, Americans across the country are celebrating Juneteenth, some for the first time, marking the national holiday with cookouts, parades and concerts as they remember the end of slavery after the Civil War. But what’s the right way to celebrate in a country hellbent on denying and ignoring its history? While many have treated the long holiday weekend as a reason for a party, others have recommended quiet reflection on this country’s ongoing violent and oppressive treatment of its Black citizens.
It’s undoubtedly a bit strange celebrating a federal holiday marking the end of slavery in a country that increasingly refuses to teach kids about that part of history. Public schools in Oklahoma, Florida, and Alabama are trying to stop important parts of that history from being taught at all. Perhaps the best way to celebrate is to continue learning and spreading knowledge in spite of these efforts.
Side Items
Murderous Raid in Jenin: Apartheid-defending Israeli forces raided the Jenin refugee camp in Palestine this morning, killing five people and wounding at least 91 others. The Israeli’s brought out the heavy weapons, attacking with a helicopter and firing indiscriminately in a densely-populated neighborhood. One of the Palestinians killed was a minor, adding to the long list of children whose lives were extinguished by a heartless occupation
NBA’s New Big 3: The Phoenix Suns finalized a deal yesterday trading bench player Landry Shamet and the skeleton of Chris Paul’s career to the Washington Wizards for their franchise star Bradley Beal. You don’t need to be a huge basketball fan to understand that this trade is incredibly one-sided. Now the Suns get a year or two of real hope for their first championship while the Wizards get a few more years of despair and frustration. It’s gotta be tough being a DC sports fan