Juneteenth: Celebrate or Silent
Written in 1862 and declared January 1, 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation, drafted by President Abraham Lincoln, was a document declaring that all slaves were to be freed. For many, this was a joyous occasion. Being freely released without having to escape from the slave master, was a dream finally come true for those taken from their land of Africa. June 19, 1865, Union Army General Gordon Granger, stood at the Ashton Villa and read to remaining slaves in Galveston, Texas that they were free as well.
Recognizing that being a slave during any period of history was catastrophic and mind altering, the freedom from the master was a celebratory event. Songs belted from mothers and hand clapping from fathers that signaled there was hope for the Negro. Children danced in the streets, not because they knew what this historic event meant for them, but because they had never seen their family so happy during this time of pain and punishment.
There is now a constant divide in the recognition of celebration and silence for this unrecognized American holiday. Depending on the geographical location of your residence, you may not have heard of Juneteenth. It is not taught in most inner city schools or Black churches. There are no retail sales or gift exchanges. In fact, there is limited information available and we are forced with putting the pieces of our past together, like a thousand piece jigsaw puzzle. How do African Americans celebrate a historic event, from a specific time, that means the World, but has no concrete sustainability?
Today, we celebrate Juneteenth with our ability to empower our freedom. It is true that the slaves in Galveston were unknowingly free and maliciously led to believe they were still captive. Many even returned to their masters for jobs and begged them to allow them to work as sharecroppers. Mentally they were unfit for freedom. Now we have the ability to create systems of higher learning and education that has caused the African American to evolve. We have the intellectual ability to think beyond what is told through the mouths of others. We have the courage to stand against our oppressors and fight for our known freedom.
Through slavery, Jim Crow, segregation, Civil Rights, and now police brutality, the African American has set out to be stronger and more diligent than any other group of people. We have fought to sustain a freedom that we have been given, and many of the living now, born in to. Let us celebrate the history of Black culture. Let us recognize the pain of this nation and the promise of its paper. For the celebration of who we are, will forever outweigh the timing that someone told us, we were free.
