This piece was originally published with the Trice Edney Newswire and has been edited for clarity and brevity.
On June 19, 1865, enslaved people in Texas were notified of their already earned freedom– a moment marking the official end of American chattel slavery, though President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation two-and-a-half years prior. From 1865, until today, local and national leaders note that Juneteenth is a party with a purpose.
“Texas was one of the Southern Confederate States that was forced to free its enslaved who were still in bondage,” said Ayo Handy-Kendi, founder of the DMV-based organization African American Holiday Association. “The people celebrated in such a way that the celebration continues today.”
While President Joe Biden declared Juneteenth a federal holiday in 2021, community leaders and activists are emphasizing the importance of looking at the celebration as a day to not only commemorate a pivotal moment in American history, but continue the long, hard fight for racial equity and justice.
“Juneteenth has always been a holiday to help us focus on self-determination, and I believe this is a good holiday to influence this nation,” said the Rev. Tony Lee, pastor of Community of Hope AME Church in Temple Hills, Maryland.
The DMV-based pastor emphasized the importance of intergenerational engagement when continuing the freedom fight.
“Young adults will be engaged if activists take their messages to the people,” Lee said. “In Maryland, we had a night club tour where we went into area night clubs and talked about the importance of voting and self-determination.”
Whether through events, programming, activism or art, community leaders are looking for exciting ways to engage the masses surrounding the story of Juneteenth, and offering a call-to-action to push for a more liberated society.
Handy-Kendi produced a one-woman play called “Juneteenth Freedom Sagas.”
“[The production] tells the true story of Juneteenth and other emancipation stories through the lens of those who held the enslaved in bondage and further speaks to the liberation stories today,” she said.
Dr. Frank Smith, founder of the African American Civil War Memorial and Museum, is passionate about preserving, sharing and celebrating the history of slavery, Black participation in the Civil War, and commemorations such as Juneteenth.
He said there even needs to be more holidays in addition to Juneteenth.
“We can’t have too many holidays to celebrate the freedom of African Americans,” he said. “I think it is important to call attention to the fact that it is a long struggle, and people are still fighting to retain the right to vote because state after state is trying to make it more difficult for people to have the right to vote.”
Smith, who in 1960 was one of the leaders of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, taking part in one of the bloodiest chapters of the Civil Rights movement, said that people must continue to keep pushing beyond the hard-fought gains of the past.
“I am a little concerned that we are going to let this thing slip through our fingers,” he said.
Melanie Campbell, president and CEO of the National Coalition of Black Civic Participation, said among the greatest tributes to Juneteenth will be learning from its history, particularly as American citizens approach a general election in November.
“We celebrate, but we [must] learn from history,” Cambell said. “We need to take this moment right now to learn because we all don’t have our right to vote, right to learn and women don’t have right to choose.”
