Juneteenth

Today is Juneteenth, also known as African-American Independence Day, Black Independence Day, or Freedom Day. A year ago today, I didn't see much about Juneteenth on social media, maybe a few tweets. In school, I never learned about Juneteenth, and I didn't know anything about it until very recently. In U.S. History classes, you're taught that Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation and then slavery was abolished and everyone was happy. I of course now know much more of the nuance of the history concerning the Reconstruction era and how racial oppression, slavery, and white supremacy have continued on, just wearing different masks. The truth is, the Emancipation Proclamation did nothing and was purely symbolic. Lincoln signed it on January 1, 1863, and it did not free a single slave. It was directed towards slaves in the confederacy, but the confederacy did not obey the United States government anyway, so essentially it freed nobody. In fact, Lincoln's chief goal was just to end the war, not to free slaves. In his words,

If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that. What I do about slavery, and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union; and what I forbear, I forbear because I do not believe it would help to save the Union....

And yet there is the myth that Lincoln did this out of the kindness of his own heart, in order to grant rights to those who had been denied them. But the Emancipation Proclamation didn't even say freed slaves should be granted citizenship!

Juneteenth is the anniversary of June 19, 1865, over two years after Lincoln "freed" the slaves, when slaves in Texas learned of their freedom and of the ratification of the 13th Amendment. The 13th Amendment, which officially did ban slavery, was ratified on January 31, 1865, so these people remained slaves illegally for five months after they were legally free. Lincoln was assassinated two months before the slaves in Texas were free.

All of these truths need to be taught in American schools. Students need to learn more about African American history and about the importance that black people have had to the United States and how horribly the United States has treated them. Here is an article about slavery of black Americans that continued until the 1960s: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/437573/blacks-were-enslaved-well-into-the-1960s. These things are important, and they need to be taught.

Juneteenth is an important day, and it must be recognized, and children in schools must be taught the truth about U.S. History rather than given the whitewashed "God bless America" version.

Happy Juneteenth.

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