So you have the day off for Juneteenth…
It’s a curious premise.
I want to know what non-Black people will do to observe Juneteenth. I am truly curious. It’s not that I don’t have my own opinion on the matter. I just wonder how you think you should spend your time, energy, and resources tomorrow.
Black people have celebrated Juneteenth in many ways — partially because of their expansive and resourceful creativity and partially because during and after the United States’ formal slavery period, many Black people were not allowed to congregate for anything other than church. Even still, Juneteenth was an opportunity to educate our community about what was and to celebrate and strategize what could be. Is that what non-Black people will do tomorrow?
In 1852, Frederick Douglass chastised the country from Rochester, NY for calling on Black people to represent and celebrate the independence of America from Great Britain. Douglass reminded the audience at Corinthian Hall:
There are seventy-two crimes in the State of Virginia which, if committed by a black man… subject him to the punishment of death; while only two of the same crimes will subject a white man to the like punishment.
This was 11 years before the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, and 13 years before the final state (Texas) was informed of the same. Yet, Black people are still inordinately arrested, unjustly incarcerated, and disproportionately assassinated by police. In. Every. State.
And the effects of slavery still live on. Yes, today. Yes, through you. Yes, at your job. And yes, at your house.
If your grant funding favors white-led organizations (even those that claim to serve Black people), your philanthropy advances systemic racism.
If Black friends and co-workers do not trust you to support and defend them against anti-Black racism in all its forms, your personal obligations advance systemic racism.
If the Black staff represent the lowest-paid leaders on your executive team, your compensation policies advance systemic racism.
If your organization’s highest-paid or longest retained consultants are all white, your leaders’ value assignments advance systemic racism.
If you believe that being from another country or being committed to a person of color precludes you from white privilege or committing acts of racism, your ignorance advances systemic racism.
If your organization’s least senior employees are majority people of color, your recruitment and retention strategies advance systemic racism.
If you believe that Huey P. Newton, Angela Davis, Assata Shakur, and Fred Hampton were domestic terrorists — or if you have no idea who the aforementioned are — your education advances systemic racism.
If little to nothing in your home was produced, manufactured, or sold by a Black person or Black-owned business, your checking account advances systemic racism. (See www.myBlackreceipt.com)
If you are offended or annoyed by these points of clarity, your emotions advance systemic racism.
Frederick Douglass acknowledged that in 1852 the 4th of July was not his people’s holiday. After realizing that racism has been passed down for generations (though slightly modified in the modern world), I hope you don’t bury your head in the sand and decide that Juneteenth is your holiday. The current calendar days that acknowledge the contributions of Black people in this country have been whitewashed (pun intended) in a way that dismisses our country’s obligation to grapple with the truths of slavery.
Will you choose action over observation?
Is Juneteenth just another day off work or will you and your loved ones actively learn about, observe, and humbly acknowledge slavery, its impact on our country, its impact on your decisions, and its impact on your lifestyle? Will you read, will you watch, and will you discuss what you need to do to become an anti-racist and to become a good ancestor?
As a Black patriot with military servicemembers on both sides of my family and that of my spouse’s family, we’re still going to light up the grill and pop firecrackers on the 4th of July to celebrate the spirit of independence. I’m just curious if you’re going to intentionally execute acts of antiracism this Juneteenth. Every Juneteenth. And with the persistent regularity needed to abolish racism in your beloved country.
