Every year people from our community gather to together to celebrate Juneteenth, an American holiday that commemorates the June 19th, 1865 declaration of the abolition of slavery and emancipation of enslaved African-Americans in the former Confederacy of the southern United States. Every year the proclamation is read aloud to underscore the importance of this event. As the proclamation was read by the actor playing Abraham Lincoln, I stood with my 9-year-old daughter and was glad to be there with her for the first time, yet as I saw and listened I just kept thinking, “There is so much work to be done.”
Here is an excerpt:
“And by virtue of the power, and for the purpose aforesaid, I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States, and parts of States, are, and henceforward shall be free; and that the Executive government of the United States, including the military and naval authorities thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons.”
People clapped and cheered as this part of the proclamation was read, and I thought about how commemorating this day in our nation’s history has never seemed more important. And making sure my daughter learns and witnesses what Juneteenth is and what it means for people was someting I need to do more of as a parent.
Groups from around the community came together to commemorate this event. Champaign County Head Start, Champaign County Democrats, the Unitarian Universalist Church in Urbana, Illini Healthcare, and First Followers were there, and folks from the Douglass Branch Library were signing kids and adults up for the summer reading program.
The celebration yesterday was and is a critical reminder about how important the work to be done is. As I watched the kids playing games, listening to music, and running through the water park, I was grateful for that joy and for the day.
