Stephan: The first time I recognized that ordinary people could create social change that fostered wellbeing was as a teenager when I became involved in the civil rights movement. The Juneteenth landmark signed by President Biden yesterday may not seem like a big deal to some but, in my view, it is a very big deal. I see it as a first acknowledgment of slavery, the racial cancer that has afflicted American society since the colonial period. We cannot fix what we have not acknowledged. Not just racial equality but the reality that slavery shaped this nation from its inception. I see it as the first step toward healing but recognize that there are also dangers to making this a national holiday, and those don't get discussed much.
I have read a dozen articles about what happened yesterday and listened to all the networks talk about it. Of that lot, this is the piece that stood out for me.
Solwazi Browne-Vargas, 7, of Boston, gives his mother a thumbs-up after Black legislators raised the Juneteenth flag on Wednesday to commemorate Massachusetts’ first observation of the holiday. Credit: Christina Botic/Boston Globe
On Wednesday, the House followed the Senate in passing a bill to make Juneteenth a national holiday. President Biden signed it into law Thursday afternoon. After a century and a half, the oldest celebration of Black emancipation is now a federal holiday.
Juneteenth is an occasion we should all commemorate, but what are the risks of taking the celebration of Black freedom mainstream? As more organizations and communities across the nation recognize Juneteenth, there may be some unintended consequences that make it harder for people to recognize the significance of the occasion.
The long effort to make Juneteenth a federally recognized holiday nearly became a reality in 2020 with momentum from historic protests for racial justice. A single lawmaker, Republican Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, opposed the effort, and other GOP officials moved on to other matters.
Even though Congress failed to make Juneteenth a […]
Since I have a step-son-in-law and two grandsons who are Black, this makes my heart swell with pride. We need to make it also apply it to Native Americans also who have been also treated as if they were slaves when the Europeans displaced the Natives from their land so we could ruin it with our attack on Nature itself, instead of respecting the Earth like the Natives did.
Since I have a step-son-in-law and two grandsons who are Black, this makes my heart swell with pride. We need to make it also apply it to Native Americans also who have been also treated as if they were slaves when the Europeans displaced the Natives from their land so we could ruin it with our attack on Nature itself, instead of respecting the Earth like the Natives did.