I remember the banks closed to honor, remember and celebrate Juneteenth on June 19, 2020. For the first time, without warning, the government stopped to recognize something that was a milestone for black people. It was a test run leading to the declaration of making it a federal holiday. In the 1800s, three years after the emancipation proclamation of 1862, black people were alerted in Texas on June 19, 1865, that slavery was over. It was called Jubilation Day, Liberation Day, and became Juneteenth. With everything going on in the world today, you would think other issues should take precedence. Could it be that the government has decided to throw em’ a bone to stem the conversation about other pressing matters?
Throw em’ a bone to avoid dealing with issues of:
- Reparations for the centenarians who survive the Tulsa massacre
- HR-1 Bill to keep voting rights fair and equitable for all
- Blanket Police reform
- Raising the minimum wage so that people don’t have to work three part-time jobs to survive
- Ban on critical race theory in public schools
Any one of the issues listed above would outweigh making Juneteenth a federal holiday. The government always chooses to do what is easy instead of what is hard. Progress is often unnecessarily slow. To avoid any real movement, they throw em’ a bone and hope to keep things quiet. It’s a shame. Silence is not the order of the day. People are loud, proud, and require movement in the right direction.
We are in a new age where inaction is a thing of the past. Change has to move quicker. Results need to be substantial and binding in the form of legislation. More and more black people are getting into politics. The process of change is going to get fast-tracked. Think about how much we can evolve with the right people in place. Let the government keep throwing a bone. The day is coming when it will get thrown back.