A friend of mine asked me, “What’s the big deal about Juneteenth?”
And I looked at him quizzically
Because Black folks have been celebrating Juneteenth for well over a century
But I thought to myself maybe he just needs a lesson in history
I said, “On June 19th, 1865 Union General Gordon Granger issued General Order Number 3
Informing the last remaining slaves in Galveston, Texas that their bondage was over and they were to be released”
See on January 1, 1863 President Abraham Lincoln issued a decree
Declaring slaves in the South to be set free
But it took over two and a half years for the Emancipation Proclamation to make it west of the Mississippi.
My friend seemed surprised to hear about this information
That I shared about the history of our nation
So I decided to give him more details so that he could understand the gravity of the situation
See the big deal about Juneteenth is that Thomas Jefferson, who owned slaves
Wrote a line in the original Declaration of Independence condemning those who owned slaves
But because he feared the opinion of others who owned slaves
He removed the condemnation because he was afraid of what they were gon’ say
That was one of our nation’s many terrible compromises and decisions
The Missouri and 1850 Compromises, some dreadful decisions
And in 1857 an even more dreadful decision
The Supreme Court issued the Dred Scott Decision
Which said that black people born in this nation could not be citizens
See the big deal about Juneteenth is that my forebears would try to escape bondage by running through the trees
But most could not make it through the Nathan Bedford Forrest. Their liberty was Stonewall’d
When they were captured they would be shown no leeway
Instead they would be shown Lee’s way
Robert E. Lee’s way
See for generations black folks in our nation had nothing more than suffering and strife
At anytime “massa” could come for their kids, their husband, their wife
And if they tried to fight back “massa” could come for their life
There was no, “I’ll see you in court!”, black folks didn’t have those rights
Even though many had freedom in Christ they didn’t enjoy freedom in life
So when Lemuel Haynes preached I said , “Amen!”
When Sojourner Truth prayed I joined hands
When Phyllis Wheatley, Jupiter Hammon, and David Walker wrote, I studied to understand
And when Frederick Douglass asked, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”, I felt that
Because my ancestors lived and survived that
So the big deal about the Juneteenth celebration
Is that it is a reminder that the United States of America, our nation
Moved closer to reaching her ideals of Freedom and Liberation
Through the Emancipation
Of 4 million members of the population
I think that’s a pretty good explanation
