Friday is Juneteenth, also known as Jubilee Day, Liberation Day and Freedom Day, and is the oldest national celebration of the end of slavery in the United States.
This was two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation in 1862. The Proclamation had little impact on Texans due to the minimal number of Union troops there to enforce the new Executive Order. However, with the arrival of a federal regiment, the forces were finally strong enough to overcome the resistance.
Valerie Grim, Indiana University professor of African American and African Diaspora Studies, says Juneteenth is a moment of celebration honoring those who not only became free but also those who fought for their own freedom and the idea of the Constitution guaranteeing freedom and equality for all human beings.
Grim says, “And so this is a moment where the African American community and all freedom-loving people remember that there was a struggle to have freedom in this country and that it wasn't automatically given to Black people.”
She says it's not only a celebration with food, music and camaraderie but also a time when African Americans talk about lack of opportunities and economic oppression.
It also is a moment when people organize and try to focus attention on how the American ideal of democracy has not being practiced fully in the country as it pertains to African Americans.
Grim says, “I think at the heart of every celebration is this idea that in spite of what African Americans have had to deal with in the United States, that we have been a people who have pushed and pressed and continue to fight for what is constitutionally granted.”
She says this is the moment when we can learn to spread the idea that we are each other's neighbors, and that we can love and care for each other. However, she says we need to keep in mind that there's still work to do and it is not just the work of Black people.
“And this is not just a memory of Black people, that this is the memory of a country that must use this memory to push even harder for the idea of democracy and inclusion and equity and diversity and all those words we like to throw around but don't live up to in this country.” Grim says.
Juneteenth is a state holiday in 47 states, but there has been a push to make it a national holiday. Last year, the U.S. Senate passed a resolution recognizing “Juneteenth Independence Day” as a national holiday, but it has not been approved in the House.
Bloomington has several events planned to celebrate Juneteenth. Black Lives Matter of Bloomington will be hosting a Juneteenth Celebration at Butler Park from 4-8 p.m. tomorrow.
The Neal Marshall Black Culture Center is also planning a virtual Juneteeth Celebration throughout the day featuring words from the community, discussions, and a shout-out to 2020 black graduates. An online discussion will be hosted by the IU Arts and Humanities Council.
