Culture Thursday: A few thoughts on Juneteenth
I want to speak about Juneteenth, which was yesterday.
I want to speak about how Black history was suppressed for centuries.
I want to speak about how now, when Juneteenth was made a federal holiday, the usual suspects raised alarums.
How dare we dwell on the past? How dare we elevate this "Black" holiday—and you know they want to say something other than "Black"—to the same level as Independence Day or Memorial Day?
(Surprise. Memorial Day also had Black roots.)
Memorializing the day that Black people received the news that they were free in Galveston, TX, is a step too far for many people. It makes them feel bad. It makes them feel angry.
Well? Too fucking bad.
Juneteenth is a joyous holiday. It's a holiday of liberation and freedom. It's a holiday created solely by Black people, for Black people. But we can all celebrate freedom. We can all celebrate liberation. What's so bad about that?
Because, for many, it's the wrong freedom. It's the wrong liberation. It's an affront to their beliefs and prejudices.
"Why does everything have to be about race?" Because this country is all about race. Racism is the in the original matrix, and it persists. Just the other day, the Oklahoma Supreme Court quashed a lawsuit to provide restitution to the survivors of the Tulsa Race Massacre. That's the history those who inveigh against Juneteenth wish to hide and obscure. They want to paint anyone not white as uppity, asking for "special favors". No. Those of us who are not white want our history in this country recognized. Thus Juneteenth. Thus, in California, Cesar Chavez Day. History is a fact whether or not you acknowledge it. History is the home from which we all proceed; ignore it at the risk of the home crumbling down to its foundations.
"What about white history?!" What about it? You show me a white holiday which isn't about exploitation and I'll celebrate it. Columbus Day? Feh. It's Indigenous People's Day now. Because while Cristoforo Colombo changed the world, and we all live in that world, he, as a man, is not worth celebrating. Thanksgiving? I think not a bit about the Pilgrims. I think about how fortunate I am and give thanks for that good fortune. The Pilgrims could have starved for all I care. The holiday is not about them, but about the bounty in which we should all partake.
I celebrate Juneteenth as a Cuban-American because it's is a holiday of joy and hope. That wrongs will be righted. That injustice will become justice. That evil will become good. And that's too much for the usual suspects. Too bad. This world is no longer yours exclusively. And if you can't get down with that, well, that's on you. And you will be left by the wayside.
Addendum
My friends. We're going to win. And we will cleanse this country and this world. Not with hate. Not with fire. But with love. With empathy. With the outrageous notion that we are all children of the Universe, no one better than anyone else. Bank on it.
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