How White People Can Show Up and Commemorate Juneteenth
Juneteenth consisting of the words “June” and “nineteenth,” stands as the oldest celebration of Black emancipation in the United States. To this day, the occasion marks the progress of the United States from legally approving race-based chattel slavery to legally abolishing it after centuries of resistance, the initiation of the nation’s bloodiest war, and a constitutional amendment. It was June 19, 1865, and although the Emancipation Proclamation freed enslaved people more than two years earlier, there was minimal enforcement in Texas due to a lack of Union troops. Each year, Juneteenth is a day for Black Americans to celebrate freedom. In our household, we celebrate festivities the entire week of Juneteenth. Our festivities include making T-shirts, watching shows and films that are focused on education around Juneteenth, make strawberry soda, which is a traditional drink of Juneteenth festivities, a special dinner on Juneteenth, and more. It’s a fun and engaging way to involve our household and inspire awareness of Juneteenth.
As part of the commitment to dismantle racism, many individuals, organizations, and governments committed to increasing racial awareness by celebrating Juneteenth. Historically speaking, few events compare to the significance of the abolition of slavery in the United States. It forever changed the political and social landscape of the country. The new attention Juneteenth is receiving outside of Black communities is long overdue and should be welcomed. But even though Juneteenth is an occasion that everyone should recognize, not everyone should acknowledge it in the same way.
While Juneteenth is truly American history that includes and applies to everyone, it has its roots in the bloody battle between white supremacy and the Black freedom struggle. In this conflict, the two sides are not morally equivalent. You can’t “both sides” race-based chattel slavery. It was a heinous institution that Black people and their co-conspirators knew was wrong at the time and its evil has only become more apparent in the ensuing century and a half since abolition.
A bit of history. Many societies throughout time have practiced some form of slavery. In the United States, however, slavery “developed as a permanent, hereditary status centrally tied to race.” As slavery became more institutionalized, wealthy white men created more rules to regulate its practice. Breaking from the tradition of a child following the father’s status, slavery in the United States dictated that a child was born enslaved or free based solely on the mother’s status.
Slavery in the United States meant slavery for life with no hope of emancipation. Enslaved Black people were deprived of legal rights, required permission to leave their master’s property, were forbidden to legally marry, and could not carry guns. Slavery in this country defined enslaved Africans not as human beings but as chattel—private property on the same level as livestock. Even the support of white abolitionists was uneven and incomplete. Just because someone did not want the institution of race-based chattel slavery to continue did not mean they were committed to the concept of Black equality.
Even Abraham Lincoln, often dubbed the “Great Emancipator” for his role in leading the Union during the Civil War and for signing the Emancipation Proclamation, made it clear that white people who opposed slavery could also be racist. At the outset of his presidency in 1860, Abraham Lincoln objected to the expansion of slavery, but he was not initially interested in abolishing it, nor did he advocate for civil or social equality for black people. During a series of political debates against Stephen Douglas in Illinois in 1858, Lincoln carefully explained, “I am not nor have I ever been in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races.”
In the wake of so many Black lives lost to police brutality, especially in this time where cameras are available for the world to see, forcing everyone to avoid denying the very reality of police brutality against Black bodies. So, since the awakening of awareness of Juneteenth and since Juneteenth has been recognized as a national holiday, many of us in the Black community have received questions as to how white people can show up and take action.
So, I’ve compiled a list of way white people can become more aware of and celebrate Juneteenth. Tune in to our special edition episode: Red Velvet Cake: How White People Can Commemorate Juneteenth