4th Of July Is Not The Only Independence Day We Should Be Celebrating
Why Making Juneteenth a Federally Recognized Holiday Is Important Now More Than Ever
Happy Juneteenth y’all!
For those of you who are unfamiliar with what Juneteenth is, as saddened (but not surprised) as I am, allow me to provide you with a brief history of this very important day in American history.
As of right now, Juneteenth is an unofficial American holiday that honors the day that the slaves in Texas were read the federal orders from Abraham Lincoln calling for their freedom in1865.
Despite Lincoln having signed the emancipation proclamation into law, which was the groundbreaking legislation that called for the end of slavery in 1863, it still took over 2 years for union troops to be able to gain a strong enough presence in Texas to enforce it. This means that for over two years after the fact, black people were still being held captive as slaves. And as far as I’ve researched they were never offered any restitution for this miscarriage of justice.
Since then, Juneteenth, which takes place on June 19th, has only been recognized as a state holiday in all states but Hawaii, North Dakota, and South Dakota. However, from personal observation, it is not an independence day that is honored or respected in the same way that 4th of July is, despite the fact that both are integral parts to American history.
Instead, it has always been a holiday that is typically recognized by the black community—And that’s if people had ever been taught about its existence.
For most of my life, the only independence day that I knew of was 4th of July. And for many years I treated 4th of July just like any other holiday; a time to gather with friends and family, eat good food, watch fireworks and celebrate.
And even though I knew subconsciously that slaves still weren’t free at the signing of the declaration of independence, I didn’t really confront that truth of what it meant to celebrate this holiday as a black person until Chris Rock’s explosive tweet back in 2012, in which he wrote:
Happy white peoples independence day the slaves weren't free but I'm sure they enjoyed fireworks
— Chris Rock (@chrisrock) July 4, 2012
“Happy white people’s independence day the slaves weren’t free but I’m sure they enjoyed fireworks.”
As one might imagine, the backlash from many white people about this tweet was swift and immediate. But for me, I remember being sent down a critical thinking hole for days about what it meant to fully participate in celebrating 4th of July as a black American woman without the proper federal acknowledgment of Juneteenth.
For many white Americans, 4th of July is a holiday that is the backbone of this country; there would be no America today if a group of white men didn’t clamber into a room hundreds of years ago and decide the structure of how this country would work. And so we gather every year to honor the rules and regulations that they thought would best provide independence to all Americans.
But as we finish out the 3rd week of protests calling for police reform and civil rights legislation to stop the unjust slayings of black people, I can’t help but wonder if part of the problems we are experiencing today are due to the fact that we’re still looking at America from the vantage point of a group of (slave-owning) white men.
I can’t help but wonder if part of the problems we are experiencing today are due to the fact that America actually has two independence days that it should be celebrating, but that it often neglects the second one because there are still white people in power who believe that this independence day should have never happened.
To be clear, I have no qualms about celebrating 4th of July, nor am I suggesting that people not celebrate it. I, myself, still partake in 4th of July festivities, albeit from a more reformed place of thought.
But without the proper federal recognition and respect of the independence day that gave me and my ancestors freedom in this country, then Rock’s tweet wasn’t wrong or unnecessarily inflammatory. It was just a full cup of reali-tea that white people found to be too hot for their liking.
Slavery is a huge part of every American’s history, and yet it is one that many white Americans will go to great lengths to make a mere footnote when processing their relationship with this country. But when discussing what it means to celebrate independence as an American in this country in its totality, it can’t just start and end with the 4th of July.
4th of July is not the only independence day that we should be celebrating in this country, and it is high time that Juneteenth move from being a “black” holiday to a nationally recognized holiday.
If you agree, I hope you will take the time to sign this petition started by 93-year-old Opal Lee calling on the government to make Juneteenth a federal holiday.
Learn more about Lee’s movement to turn Juneteenth into a nationally recognized holiday here.
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