I'm not sure if "celebrate" is even the right word.
When I google my question, I also see "honor." How do we "honor Juneteenth"? People must sense that "celebrate" is wrong — too festive, too joyful and fun? — because they're not seeing that it's wrong to speak of "honoring" a holiday. It's not the holiday that is honored, the holiday honors something, and you wouldn't say you are honoring the honoring.
At CNN, I'm seeing "Ways to celebrate and serve Juneteenth." Serve? Is the holiday our master? Juneteenth marks an escape from servitude. Why would we — how would we — serve this occasion? And yet we often speak of observing a holiday. I take a long break to research the prefix "ob-" in the Oxford English Dictionary.
But enough about language. The question is are we going to celebrate Juneteenth?
What are we supposed to do? I was thinking in terms of things you'd do privately with family and friends, a holiday like Christmas or Thanksgiving. I wanted some special foods or rituals. But perhaps there is a festival or event in your town, something you could go to.I can see there are a bunch of things here in Madison, notably "Juneteenth in the Park." That's a "parade and celebration" that begins with a speech from Governor Tony Evers at the Fountain of Life Church, and continues with a parade to Penn Park, where there will be 6 hours of "festivities," including "a hands-on community science fair and basketball tournament."
That's happening today, even though it's the 18th and Juneteenth is June 19th. But it's Saturday, the best day for parades and gatherings in the park, and June 19th, tomorrow, is also Father's Day.
What's the plan for dealing with the Juneteenth/Father's Day conflicts that will happen over the years? You could merge the 2 events, switch Juneteenth to the Saturday, or forefront Juneteenth in the years when there is a conflict. Maybe we should move Father's Day to the second Sunday in June so there's never a conflict. That would be an appropriate gesture of respect.
Father's Day isn't a federal holiday, so who knows what it would take to move it? Oh! It's in the hands of the President!
A bill to accord national recognition of the holiday was introduced in Congress in 1913. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson went to Spokane to speak in a Father's Day celebration and wanted to make it official, but Congress resisted, fearing that it would become commercialized. US President Calvin Coolidge recommended in 1924 that the day be observed by the nation, but stopped short of issuing a national proclamation. Two earlier attempts to formally recognize the holiday had been defeated by Congress. In 1957, Maine Senator Margaret Chase Smith wrote a proposal accusing Congress of ignoring fathers for 40 years while honoring mothers, thus "[singling] out just one of our two parents." In 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson issued the first presidential proclamation honoring fathers, designating the third Sunday in June as Father's Day. Six years later, the day was made a permanent national holiday when President Richard Nixon signed it into law in 1972.
Nixon did it! So Biden can move it. Come on, Biden. Issue a proclamation moving Father's Day so that it never conflicts with Juneteenth.
And while you're at it move Pride Month. It's not good to have Juneteenth and Pride Month at the same time, what with the parades and special colors and flags. Who made June Pride Month?
Three presidents of the United States have officially declared a pride month. First, President Bill Clinton declared June "Gay & Lesbian Pride Month" in 1999 and 2000. Then from 2009 to 2016, each year he was in office, President Barack Obama declared June LGBT Pride Month. Later, President Joe Biden declared June LGBTQ+ Pride Month in 2021. Donald Trump became the first Republican president to acknowledge LGBT Pride Month in 2019, but he did so through tweeting rather than an official proclamation; the tweet was later released as an official "Statement from the President."
So it's a year-by-year thing. Biden has the opportunity to make Pride Month permanent, and he can use that as a sweetener as he moves it to a different month. Seriously, I encourage Biden to do some proclamations to clear the way for Juneteenth. It's the holiday with the month's name on it — Juneteenth!
And I'd still like to know a few things we could do annually for Juneteenth — things that will be appreciated and considered respectful. If the message to white people is Stand down and do nothing/It's not your day — that's fine too!
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At my granddaughter third birthday party. :)
Prediction: Choosing not to celebrate is a huge mistake. Making the holiday a drudge will make it a “black only holiday”. Let everyone have fun. The liberals never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.
Here in France the word ”commemorate” is widely used in similar cases
Juneteenth feels like the Joe Biden’s lifelong stuttering problem of national holidays.
I'm pretty confident the celebrations will be about as topical as the ones on Washington's Birthday.
Well...Biden signed Juneteenth into reality. He (or his team) could have noticed Father's Day was in there. But then, fatherhood has never been one of his strengths.
As for the celebration of Juneteenth, maybe I'm just not getting it, but to me this is not an exclusively Black holiday, nor should it be. Whites should not stand down for this holiday. No one should. This should be a massive celebration. It should be celebrated in every home. My God. Its the day we ended slavery. Well...not really. It's not THE day. But its a day when the last of the pockets of slaves were told that they were Emancipated. Is that not good enough a reason for an entire nation that has struggled with it's slavery past to celebrate? A day commemorating the ending of the worst thing we ever did?
Yes- slavery kept on. Jim Crow kept on. Racism kept and keeps on- not just against Black people, but against all people. Humans are a problem that way. But the large picture is that we, as a nation, stood up and worked to stop it. Slavery is done here. This day, Juneteenth, marks the beginning of the end of slavery.
Hell, yeah. This should be a celebration day and my hope is that in future generations (if this country is still standing) they will celebrate en masse, nationally. This should not be a segregated holiday, by any means. If so, then we don't even understand what Juneteenth meant for everyone.
I plan to put out our American flag. And maybe even invite our (Black) neighbors over for dinner and some adult beverages. It's not patronizing. It's a joint celebration. It has to start somewhere.
Is this going to be treated like the affirmative action holiday?
We could each visit the graves of some of the hundreds of thousands of white men who died in the Civil War to end slavery.
By ignoring it. If you are white, and you celebrate it you are appropriating their culture, and if you don't, you are a racist. You are better off ignoring it, and letting Texas celebrate it, since Lincoln already ended slavery in America, and Texas declared it almost 2 years later.
Why do gays and blacks get a month and Veterans are lucky to get a day?? Veterans served our country. We live in upside down world.
The event it is supposed to commemorate is hardly worth commemorating. There have been Juneteenth events in public places for years, for anyone interested. I've been to a couple on Cincinnati's riverfront. But it didn't have to be raised to the next level, but for simple pandering.
For a long time Father's Day has been associated with golf's US Open, and nobody should screw around with that.
No to me Celebrate is the right word to use.
Juneteenth or as it was originally called Emancipation Day is one to be truly celebratory to me. Its a celebration of freedom paid for with a he3avy price, there fore it should be precious and joyous.
Stand down and do nothing/It's not your day
Why would one give up this kind of opportunity to cheaply boost one's social credit score?
It's not like it means anything. Learn to be performative and live on multiple levels. When you can fake authenticity, you've got it made. After all, what is there to lose?
#futurethinking #lifehacks
I don't think my family is allowed to do anything for the holiday because we're all white. We could attend as "allies" but we've been told unequivocally that if you're white, you're automatically racist and there's nothing you can do to convince anyone otherwise. All it would take is one picture or tweet accusing us of "appropriating" the holiday and having fun when we shouldn't be to ruin our lives. I'd rather not take the risk.
I still don't know what Juneteenth is about and I'm not going to google it.
Do one nice quiet little thing. Don't force it on black friends or strangers. Read an old black newspaper. You can find them online. Look at some pictures. If you're a conservative, learn a little about black John Bircher George Schuyler.
Then move on. Do the same for other ethnic holidays. On Columbus Day you might read about the huge numbers of Italians who were enslaved by indentured servitude and lynched en masse in the South. Oh, yeah. Nobody wrote that book.
On St. Patrick's day, you can read about indentured servitude.
4th of July: go back a good 100 years and read one of the thousands of small town newspapers. Also online. Don't scare the dogs with fireworks. The latter also applies to Cinco de Mayo.
Never celebrate Madison, Minnesota, unless by burning a pile of lutefisk and Robert Bly poems.
I like to start Ramadan by remembering how the Crusades actually drove invading Muslims back out of Europe, liberating our civilization, then consider the ensuing brutal centuries of their continued kidnapping and enslaving Europeans and how they are still imprisoning and mutilating women and foreign laborers.
Watch Night and Fog at Passover.
I intend to ignore it completely. If any day should be observed, it is 06 December, the date upon which the XIII th Amendment was fully ratified.
Isn't it obvious? Celebrate Juneteenth the same way you celebrate Martin Luther King Day.
The comedy show 'Atlanta," starring Danny Glover, had an episode called 'Juneteenth' which clearly shows how not to do Juneteenth. It's over at https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5853556/ . We could start by watching that show the day before and learning what not to do.
More positively, why not let the blacks celebrate or commemorate as they choose and form a way to do it right while the rest of us barbecue and go to the beach or the lakes and mountains on that holiday for several years. Then, when a pattern is set, the rest of us can copy it or not (not culturally appropriate it) or whatever naturally follows from their choice.
I'm going to ignore that it even exists. It doesn't mean anything to me. I don't care about that part of "our" history ... or should I say "their" history? It's meaningless to me. They don't care about my ancestors either.
My ancestors weren't involved. Everyone's ancestors were slaves at some point in the past ... it doesn't make you special.
It’s always been a bit of something to celebrate in Texas since as long as I can remember. Usually it’s been a time to picnic with friends and family, sort of like 4th of July but without the fireworks. It was always an easy thing in my younger years for my friends and I as one if my buddies birthday is June 19th and we’d always get together, go out, etc.
And the conflict with Father’s Day? Meh… just keep it as is or change it… whatever. I don’t think anyone will notice much and quite frankly it’d be nice on the occasions they fall on the day to point out the overlap and fold celebrations of both together. A little focus on Dad’s as integral to the family unit is something this country is in desperate need of.
Another tax payer funded paid day off for the bureaucrats. That's my take.
I’ll be celebrating it with a major hangover from my younger daughter’s wedding festivities this evening. I hired an eight piece soul band out of Atlanta for the reception, so maybe they’ll cover Aretha’s ‘Freedom’ at 12:01. If not, I’ll request it.
"Ways to celebrate and serve Juneteenth." Serve? Is the holiday our master?
Collard greens, fried chicken and watermelon would seem to fit the bill.
Maybe you think that ridiculous. But it's no more ridiculous than this newest "holiday" which is the left's latest pay-em-off scheme.
No. Of course not. It’s a stupid holiday for stupid people. Now Blacks, 12% of the population, have 2 of the national holidays. Do we have any white holidays? Of course not. Always keep this in mind - slavery was a Dem party thing, as were the KKK, Jim Crow, then the destruction of the Black family by the War on Poverty. Now it’s Dem violence and drugs killing off so many Blacks. Republicans were the ones who fought and died to free the Black slaves. If the Dems want to wallow in their self hate for what they have done through the centuries to Blacks in this country, be my guest. But don’t expect me to join in. My ancestors and I have opposed this subornation and exploitation of Blacks by white Democrats for at least 170 years now.
Besides, Sunday is Father’s Day. Our one day a year to be celebrated. I am not about to give that up for some vague Dem caused and felt guilt over their horrid treatment of Blacks. Maybe all those soiboys and NPCs who envy us fathers our one day of celebration, now have something to celebrate the weekend the rest of us guys, who are fathers, are celebrated.
Like most private sector Americans, most years I'll celebrate it by going to work.
"Is the holiday our master?"
Careful!
"What are we supposed to do?"
Signal virtue, BAMN.
In my view, Juneteenth day should never have been declared a Federal Holiday. It was a very local event that took place because of how communications operated back in the 1860's. Let Galveston celebrate Juneteenth if they want to; a Federal holiday should tie to an event of wider significance.
How about the date of the Emancipation Proclamation? Unfortunately, Lincoln made that on January 1st, so it conflicts with another already established holiday. How about April 9th, the date in 1865 when the Civil War ended? Of course, you've got a small possibility with an Easter conflict there.
Another possibility is July 9th, the day in 1868 when the 14th amendment was ratified, making former slaves citizens. Another holiday close to Independence Day.
If we are stuck with Juneteenth as a Federal holiday, then I suggest moving Fathers Day into August... we don't have any major holiday in that month, and it's still a great summer month for picnics. We don't need the Federal government to 'officially' recognize holidays like Mothers/Fathers day anyway, so let's just do it on our own - celebrate it on the first Sunday of August and ignore the commercial hype built up around the June date.
Or... just observe/commemorate/celebrate the events that you choose to, just as we have always done.
Yikes, when I clicked on the linked to CNN article and saw the lead photo of the flag, all I could think of was that it reminded me of a slice of watermelon. And, yet, that's now a forbidden food item to associate with black people, right? It's not like I was primed to be on the lookout for watermelon. Sigh, it's just getting all too complicated.
Yikes, when I clicked on the linked to CNN article and saw the lead photo of the flag, all I could think of was that it reminded me of a slice of watermelon. And, yet, that's now a forbidden food item to associate with black people, right? It's not like I was primed to be on the lookout for watermelon. Sigh, it's just getting all too complicated.
Did you know that August 23rd is international Slavery Remembrance Day?
That date was selected because it marks the anniversary of the slave rebellion in Haiti, the first successful rebellion by slaves in the New World.
It was a bad event to memorialize. Blood, fire, destruction, race hatred, and savage cruelty.
Juneteenth.....the Jheri curl of Federal Holidays.
"Did you know that August 23rd is international Slavery Remembrance Day?"
That's reminder that we ought to remember that there are many slaves in the world right now.
I'm going to think about my Great Great Grandfather Oscar Clapper, 38th Iowa Infantry Regiment
He was at Vicksburg in '63; and then went on down to Texas where he spent Juneteenth in a military hospital (like he did Most of '65).
Who Ended Slavery? Was it the Democrats? Or was it the Army of the Tennessee? UNION FOREVER!
Not with fried chicken and watermelon, I suppose.
Holidays don't keep their original significance. They just become excuses for big sales or cookouts or sitting around watching television. One way to keep them alive would be with a moment of silence, I guess, but that's too much in this case. Emancipation isn't a living memory for us, though some might like to claim. You can't have the ever dwindling ranks of ex-slaves marching down Main Street.
’Come on, Biden. Issue a proclamation moving Father's Day so that it never conflicts with Juneteenth.’
The US Open is played to coincide with a Father’s Day finish on Sunday. Those traditions are far more important than Juneteenth. And, no, you can’t move the US Open to later in the year, because the increased temperatures effectively eliminate Southern courses from a rota already biased toward Northern tracks.
"Did you know that August 23rd is international Slavery Remembrance Day?
That date was selected because it marks the anniversary of the slave rebellion in Haiti, the first successful rebellion by slaves in the New World.
It was a bad event to memorialize. Blood, fire, destruction, race hatred, and savage cruelty."
Then we should abolish all war monuments and memorials, as all wars consist of blood, fire, destruction, hatred, (often racial), and savage cruelty.
Actually, that's not a bad idea.
’That's reminder that we ought to remember that there are many slaves in the world right now.’
Making your favorite Apple products!
I am going to watch the movie Glory. Which covers freedom from slavery and enters into a complex discussion of race and racism along the way in really thoughtful ways
I'm celebrating Juneteenth like I celebrate Kwanza.
"But then, fatherhood has never been one of his strengths."
Fathers and the positive values of fatherhood brought to children, such as self-reliance, accountability, facing adversity calmly, masculine strength etc. are opposed by the left, as they are in opposition to collectivist values, which are patronizing and promote weakness and undermine self-reliance in order to elevate the State.
It is my parents’ wedding anniversary. It is also another paid federal holiday intended to maintain the loyalty of black Americans to the Democrat Party, that sinking ship. So let the band play on. Let’s go Brandon!
We've been onto Juneteenth here in Galveston for decades. It's a wonderful holiday and I have always been happy to celebrate it. How do I (a white person) do it, you may wonder? I make a point of telling every black person I see "Happy Juneteenth". The warmth of their smiles is well worth it.
Tomorrow is Juneteenth, the newest national holiday: How should we celebrate it?
Fly the Texas flag? Eat Tex-Mex?
Yes, after the impact of the Democrat Great Society, it is salt in the wounds to have Juneteenth and Fathers' Day on the same calendar day.
Of course, a summer holiday is better than yet another December holiday, but Juneteenth is just when Union troops reached the furthest outpost of the Confederacy holding slaves. Slavery in the Union, i.e., the United States of America, didn't end until December 18, 1865.
I observe, in the sense of celebrating or commemorating, only two holidays: Independence Day and Memorial Day. They should be important to all Americans. The rest are just days off.
The big Black holiday on the same day as Fathers Day. One could be forgiven for thinking that maybe someone in Washington pulled off some sort of sly joke.
A day to celebrate the end of slavery is a GOOD thing. So is a day to remember the Holocaust, which is an officially internationally-recognized day.
But the left just has to screw everything up. They just have to ruin everything. This is why we can't have nice things.
Declaring that the Day Slavery Ended was "Juneteenth" is beyond historically ignorant. It actually detracts from the event. Perhaps in a few years "Juneteenth" will be cancelled and condemned as systemic racism when the next generation of the left realizes that slavery actually continued to exist afterward. That it was NOT the end of slavery, such that it diminishes the real suffering and evil of so many other "enslaved persons" where slavery continued, including Delaware, Kentucky and New Jersey.
Let's have an End of Slavery Day. Put it on the date the 13th Amendment was ratified. Put it during Black History Month. Pull an arbitrary date out of a hat. But selling the day of liberation in TEXAS as being nationwide is ignorant, unhistorical, and contrived. It is also a bit racist. Black folks deserve the same as all the "white" holidays, a day that is historically accurate - or at least as close to accurate as July 4 as Independence Day - and has a name that denotes some level of sophistication and education rather than some stereotypical low class stepin fetchit "Juneteenth."
Ima watch me some Key and Peele.
Juneteenth is the date that a segment of the population stopped being oppressed (in some rather important ways, but not completely) by their government and their fellow citizens. Such a success of human and individual liberty over tyranny is always a cause for celebration by all free people.
I'll celebrate Juneteenth the way I do the 4th of July, with an appreciation of my freedom from government-legalized oppression (such as it is, today) and an expectation that my fellow citizens cannot deny me my liberty.
Ima watch me some Key and Peele.
Diversity [dogma] (i.e. color judgment, class-based bigotry) is not a doctrine celebrated with gay appeal. Denying dignity, agency, and reducing human life to negotiable commodities breeds adversity. One step forward, two steps backward.
I am reading that Juneteenth recalls 6/19/XXXX when slaves in Galveston, TX found out they were free.
so Q: if we reveal something are we not also pointing out that something was concealed?
so Q: have the once enslaved accepted that they are now [XXXX] free and who have been concealing that fact?
I pretty much ignore or disdain the concept of special commemorative days for mothers and fathers. No father's day tradition got established when I was a kid, and even after I became a father myself I didn't care to have much made of such a mundane accomplishment.
On the traditional days of commemoration, I put my flag out, and sometimes put flags on the graves of my father and other veterans, but the others exist to me only insofar as they affect the mail and business hours.
Yes, there are slaves in the world still. Always have been and always will be, especially now that the Age of Human Rights crashes to a close.
It's also Fathers' Day and I will celebrate that. My kids are sending me cards, which is all I expect.
The liberal/left always loves shiney bright new objects. Its the current thing. Approved and pushed the NYT's and Wapo and Nancy Pelosi. Woo Hoo!
Amazing how they NEVER feel ashamed of being conformist boobs or being manipulated by the power elite. Rebels? Independent thinkers? On the liberal/left? LOL.
I'll celebrate it the same way I celeberate MLK day, Presidents Day, Columbus Day, and Labor Day. I'll ingnore it. This is just another fake Holiday. Unlike Christmas, Easter, 4th July, Memorial Day, etc.
The flag depicted on CNN is the black liberation flag; Juneteenth has its own very different flag, which I happily fly each Juneteenth. Having a day marking the end of US slavery seems sensible and appropriate to me, as is the idea that it is a day worth celebrating. I think it is unwise and rather thoughtless to group this holiday with the made-up Kwanza holiday or the odious Black Lives Matter organization. We should not let obnoxious woke Leftists own this holiday.
I'm surprised to see so many around here against a Republican created holiday. Seems like it would be better to honor and remember than to dismiss it if folks want to have the same percentage of republican black voters as there were during reconstruction.
@Whiskeybum
FYI the Civil War did not end when Lee surrendered the Army of Virginia at Appomattox Court House. It can be presumed to have ended when Kirby Smith , Commander of the Trans- Mississippi, surrendered on 26 May 1865. However the last general to surrender was a Cherokee named Stand Watie who surrendered on 23 June 1865. The things we learn....!
If the message to white people is "stand down...it's not your day," can this holiday be described as inclusive. Alternately, if it involves an excessive amount of walking on eggshells, can it properly be described as a holiday at all.....St Patrick's Day is inclusive. Anyone can get black-out drunk on that day. We Irish don't point fingers and accuse people of appropriating our culture.
Tomorrow, I will free my slaves.
But don't compliment me. I am not a hero. It's long overdue.
And then, I will go to my favorite cafe, identify as black, and ask for my Juneteenth discount.
Perhaps Juneteenth would be a good day to ponder on how unfortunate it is that black people were enslaved and brought to the Americas.
Ann Althouse said...
"Did you know that August 23rd is international Slavery Remembrance Day?"
That's reminder that we ought to remember that there are many slaves in the world right now.
**************************************************************************************
Ann, you hit the nail on the head. And, yet sadly, I have seen in the media some militant black Americans bristle when the words “slave” and “slavery” are used to refer to other people being enslaved worldwide in history outside of the U.S. and currently in the world. They act like the only slaves ever were enslaved black people in America from 1619 until 1865. Sort of like it is a trademark infringement in their minds and the word “slave” shouldn’t be used to apply to those enslaved souls. The irony is that they are also using smartphones made and wearing shoes and clothes made by Nike by actual slaves in China while making these declarations…
It’s been estimated that there are 20 million slaves living in the world today. If true and I volunteer my time and/or money one day of every year to effectively free one slave and if I live 10 more years, I can reduce that number to 19,999,990. And hey, that would make 10 people who might come to celebrate my birthday every year as Meadeteenth Day!
I'm willing to bet that a larger percentage of Caucasians and Asians then Blacks can correctly describe the event that led to Juneteenth.
Juneteenth is now a federal holiday due to white liberals. There was no demand for it from the Black community. 3 years ago making it a federal holiday wasn't on the radar. In fact, 2 months before it happened- it wasn't on the radar. Led to a scramble to adjust the federal pay system when it went into law mere days before it became a holiday.
Maybe tomorrow should be a day to remember and recognize all the slave-made goods that we enjoy, like our Nike shoes and solar panels and Apple phones and COVID masks.
Speaking of st. Patrick's day, everyone should 1) remember he was an escaped slave who returned as a missionary to those who enslaved him and 2) read his Letter to Coroticus as an expression of what he thought about enslaving others and how he thought the Church should respond. Very strong against enslaving and those who did it, perfect way to combine St. Patrick's day and Juneteenth
Am I the only one who thinks it *should* be a celebration?!
When Jesus told the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin, he didn't say "they found the coin and the sheep, but they were still pissed that they were lost in the first place". No, he said "come celebrate with me!" What was lost is found! He who was a slave is free!
If that's not a commemoration for some unequivocal joy, I don't know what is.
I celebrate the anniversary of the day the Emancipation Proclamation took effect.
Biden celebrated it by falling off his bike, which is a good metaphor for his whole regime.
@Paddy O,
"read his Letter to Coroticus..."
I've never even heard of that before. Fascinating reading. Thanks for sharing. It's always great to discover a new gem.
In my county they are closing the library for two days. No comment.
Jupiter, who makes more money; the descendants of the slaves or the descendants of the Africans who sold them into slavery? Who should be thanking whom?
When do Native Americans get their holliday? As one of the Althouse commenters wrote a while back, I think it was Birkle, who said there are about 3.1mm square miles in the US and about 3.1mm Native Americans so all of us including descendants of former slaves are squating on some Indian's square mile.
Correction: Army of Northern Virginia
Blogger Gospace said...
I'm willing to bet that a larger percentage of Caucasians and Asians then Blacks can correctly describe the event that led to Juneteenth.
Juneteenth is now a federal holiday due to white liberals. There was no demand for it from the Black community. 3 years ago making it a federal holiday wasn't on the radar. In fact, 2 months before it happened- it wasn't on the radar. Led to a scramble to adjust the federal pay system when it went into law mere days before it became a holiday.
Texas was not a part of the union before 1845. It was admitted as a single state (rather than 4) because the free states did not want to add four more slave states. That is why Texas is so large.
This is a holiday designed to remind black people that that they are the children of slaves, and white people that they are the children of slave masters.
You can argue that the second clause of that statement is untrue, since few whites owned slaves, even in the south, but that is not the argument that is being made. All whites are said to have benefited from slavery. The guilt you are supposed to feel is racial, it doesn't matter if you just got off the boat from Europe yesterday.
I'm not sure if "celebrate" is even the right word.
How could it not be? It's basically a day of liberation, so it's more appropriate to "celebrate" than, say Memorial Day (honouring the glorious dead), or even Veteran's Day (which confusingly coincides with everyone else's day to honour the glorious dead).
That said, I think Juneteenth should remain a Texas thing. Makes more sense for everyone else to celebrate either the date of the Emancipation Proclamation (which, looking it up, would just be New Years, so maybe not) or ratification of the 13th Amendment (December 6), which finally ended slavery in the last two slave states: Kentucky and Delaware, which were not covered by the Proclamation as they had not joined the Rebellion. So December 6 would be my proposal for an official federal holiday. Slaves in Delaware and Kentucky were still slaves on June 19, 1865, after all.
Why shouldn't we celebrate the end of slavery on Juneteenth?
After all, we celebrate the end of World War II on D-Day, June 6, don't we?
After all, we celebrate the end of World War II on D-Day, June 6, don't we?
I don't know if you're being sarcastic or not, but V-E Day is celebrated on May 8. And V-J Day is celebrated on August 13.
With regards to juneteenth? I'd be more on board if it wasn't just another obnoxious example of pandering to a certain segment of people who still claim to be slaves.
Wouldn't it have been better to pick an appropriate date (maybe even the 19th of June) and call it "Liberation Day," a day to celebrate the end of legal slavery in the US?
Then all Americans could celebrate it. There are really not too many fans of slavery in the US.
As it is, you have the illiterate formulation "Juneteenth," with the implication that this is a day to celebrate the freedom of blacks, not the whites who ended the practice of slavery.
We should never forget Juneteenth commemorates armed Republicans freeing Democrat slaves.
It's a liberty holiday. Celebrate freedom. Have a cookout. Hang out with your neighbors.
International Holocaust Remembrance Day, January 27th, marks the liberation of Auschwitz, but I'd venture to say that most of the commemoration is of the victims, not of the liberated or the liberators. Juneteenth is probably going to become another day off with sales, cook-outs and picnics, but I suspect many would rather like to see it become African-American Slavery Remembrance Day, with solemn and mournful commemorations.
I remember all the controversy over Martin Luther King Day (celebrated for some time as Civil Rights Day in New Hampshire and Arizona), but that seems to be over now. Juneteenth will probably just be accepted as just another holiday. Friday was Bunker Hill Day in Boston, so maybe somebody is getting a four-day megaweekend out of this.
I'm watching Ted Turner's Gettysburg and remembering the high water of the Democrat rebellion against the Union to protect the institution of slavery. I may go to Morris Hill Cemetery in Boise and wander thru the Civil War section leaving coins on the headstones of the fallen.
"Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman’s two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said “the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.”
--Abraham Lincoln, 2nd Inaugural Address
I'm watching Ted Turner's Gettysburg and remembering the high water of the Democrat rebellion against the Union to protect the institution of slavery
You must not be watching very carefully because both the movie and the book clearly present it as a lot more complicated than that.
And I dare say that those (culturally, economically) poor Reb soldiers did not make that mile-long march up to Cemetery Ridge under fierce enemy fire so that some rich guys could own slaves.
No, please don't move Pride month away from June. It occurs at a time--for the most part--when schools are out for summer break. Don't underestimate the culture war nonsense we are avoiding from both sides by the separation of Pride month and school.
Seems odd that June 19th and Father's day coincide this year.....
It seems obvious how we can commemorate Juneteenth: Gather together, divide into two teams, and play Red Rover.
Ah yes - Juneteenth. That's the day a Republican president ordered Democrats to free all their slaves.
I'll be giving a big tip to the white guy who is delivering my new freezer.
As it’s named Juneteenth National Independence Day rankles. We have a national Independence Day. July 4.
My constitutional amendment: Every new holiday must replace an existing one. Otherwise, by the time we've finished pandering to every micro-segment of society, we'll have more holidays than workdays. What if the 57 genders each demand their own day of recognition?
I don't know if you're being sarcastic or not
(shakes his head)
The black community, and coming generations, would be much better off if they would use the day to emphasize the need for good, responsible fathers, rather than to spend the day focused on grievance for something which has already been abolished.
Since Juneteenth celebrates the final victory of capitalism over archaic and feudal systems of production on the United States, I'm going to celebrate by exploiting a wage laborer.
We now have ELEVEN Federal holidays! That’s almost 1/5 of Mondays in the year. This country is going to pot.
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