Juneteenth: Our Forever Reminder
By: James Bryant, Director of Programs at Reconciliation Services
The ugly truth about racism is not that it HAS HAPPENED; it is that it STILL HAPPENS. Racism never acknowledges the person according to their likeness. Racism separates and segregates, divisively asserting there is some inherent superiority of a particular race over another. Institutional and systemic racism is alive today and undermines the social and economic stability in Black communities through discriminatory policing and abuse, mass incarceration, economic disinvestment, limited education, and healthcare choices, along with increasing barriers to voting accessibility.
There are two pivotal dates related to the Transatlantic Slave Trade after the Declaration of Independence, which called for freedom and equality for all in 1776.
The first date, almost 100 years after the Declaration of Independence, was the Emancipation Proclamation, enacted on January 1, 1863, which announced, “that all persons held as slaves” within the rebellious areas “are and henceforward shall be free.” This is where “Watch Night” started when people waited for the clock's strike on New Year’s Eve signaling January 1, ushering in a new day and era. But for many, that freedom did not come till much later.
The second date came two years later on June 19, 1865. It was then, on Juneteenth, that emancipation finally reached people in the deepest parts of the former Confederacy in Galveston, Texas.
This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brother-hood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day. And this will be the day. This will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with new meaning, “My country ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my father died, land of the pilgrim’s pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring. - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., I Have A Dream
Juneteenth is a reminder that:
The families of African descent have been deeply impacted by the institution of Chattel Slavery and all of the inequities and injustices that have followed, Jim Crow laws, police brutality, mass incarceration, stop and frisk, The War on Drugs, etc. These continue to erode the integrity of a community.
No matter what the Law says, some, including families to entire States, believe themselves to be above their fellow man.
We have come a long way, but there is still a long way to go. We stand on the shoulders of those who have come before us, pressing us into the future, compelling us to truly abolish the institutions and systems of slavery, and to address those directly who oppose such freedoms and inalienable rights.
HOPE also requires action. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said with hope, "I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
Many faith traditions and religions have their “Golden Rule,” a simple reminder to extend love and see the connection between us and another.
The Christian Bible states: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
Jewish teaching states: "What is hurtful to yourself, do not to your fellow man."
Buddhism teaches: "Hurt not others with that which pains yourself.”
And in Islam, teaching states: "No one of you is a believer until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.”
Many have committed these sayings to memory but have not committed them into action. They are a statement merely of HOPE or an ideal and not a plan for ACTION. I challenge you this Juneteenth and “henceforth” to live these principles and turn them into action. It will change your life and your community.
This simple shift in doing unto others what you would want done unto you can begin to help you examine and correct your own biases. Do good, be kind, find favor, act in love, and treat others well. You don’t have to understand a person's situation to treat them with respect.
At Reconciliation Services, those are the tenets of our relationships corporately and through services provided to our guests. We share with Dignity while creating Community through Advocacy. We work daily to “do unto others” as we would have done unto ourselves. Helping make a difference one family, one person, one life at a time and you can do the same.
There will always be those who allow hatred and prejudice to rule their thoughts and their actions. This is where you as an individual come in. Ensure that person is not you! Take your HOPE and turn it into ACTION. And, reflect on and celebrate Juneteenth, not losing sight of its history and not simply ending with HOPE, but taking ACTION to ensure freedom for all.