If you’ve chugged down jäger bombs on St. Patty’s Day or sipped stiff margaritas on Cinco de Mayo, I hope you’re celebrating a day that has something to do with your own history, Juneteenth.
Just in case you didn’t know, or forgot, here’s a quick synopsis. On June 19, 1865, Gen. Gordon Granger declared from a Galveston, Texas Ashton Villa balcony that President Abraham Lincoln set all slaves free. This news of freedom came two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued and a few months after Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox in Virginia.
When mentioned, this day is not as widely talked about, reported or celebrated near as much as other cultures and their significant days of history, and is often met with a blank stare. The reason, I think, is mainly because people just. don’t. know. The subject is notably missing from the majority of school books and curriculum. The color coordinated parades, drink specials and party store accessories are few and far between. Not to mention the day of black independence isn’t considered a national holiday.
Before his presidency, President Barack Obama supported an iniative to make Juneteenth a national holiday. But in 2013, he didn’t release a Juneteenth proclaims to, like he did in previous years, disappointing the Dr. Ron Myers, the chairman of the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation. Last December, Dr. Myers wrote a letter to the president to support the “modern Juneteenth movement.”
In 1994, the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation hopes to get legislation passed so that June 19 is designated Juneteenth Independence Day. The resolution has been rejected in the Senate, and Obama has yet to respond to Myers’ letter.
But I encourage all not to wait on a community activist or legislation to dictate your level of pride and enthusiam for this day. It all starts with you. Something as small as a gathering of family and friends, reading books to the new generation of this day’s significance or a BBQ are all ways you can celebrate this day without all the hoopla.