If we are committed to making change, we must first, as a country, confront our past. That begins with honest discussions about our history. Today is Juneteenth, a day commemorating when the last enslaved people in America learned that they’d been freed, just 155 years ago. While it’s old news to some, it is brand new to many.
How old were you when you first learned about Juneteenth? Yesterday years old? It’s okay to admit. This isn’t taught in most schools. Christopher Columbus is a part of every grade school curriculum and that genocidal sociopath gets a whole weekend. This year, Juneteenth is on white America’s radar.
One-hundred-and-fifty-five years ago this year, the last of the enslaved black population in Galveston, Texas received word that they were officially free. Despite the passing of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, which technically ended slavery on paper, there were still 250,000 enslaved people in Texas alone who had yet to learn of their newfound freed status until June 19, 1865. Thus, Juneteenth was born. (The Root)
Boom. In this (2017) video from The Root, you’ll learn why “Juneteenth isn’t just an obscure black holiday. It should be an American celebration.”