By Cameron Vickrey

This week our country observes and celebrates Juneteenth National Independence Day as a federal holiday for the third time. Of course, many in our country have been celebrating Juneteenth for over 150 years. 

On June 19, 1865, news of Emancipation finally reached Galveston, Texas. The legal status of enslaved people across the American South was officially changed from “enslaved” to “free” two and a half years prior with President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. But enforcement of the executive order took that long to reach Texas. 

It’s hard to imagine in this information age with breaking news alerts 24-hours a day that it took two and a half years for such big news to reach Texas’s shores. But of course, those with access to the information were motivated to withhold the news as long as possible. 

Here are a few interesting things I’ve learned recently about Juneteenth:

• Juneteenth is the first federal holiday to be established since MLK Day in 1983!

• The Juneteenth flag is relatively new, it was designed in the 1990s-2000s. It depicts a star within a starburst. The inner five-pointed start reflects the Texas Lone Star, and the 12-pointed starburst, or nova, represents a new beginning for formerly enslaved people.

• The actual announcement read by Major General Gordon Granger in Galveston on June 19, 1865, was full of powerful language, both momentous and also problematic. It began with a simple “all slaves are free.” It established equal personal rights and rights to property. But it ended with a warning that the idleness of Black people will not be tolerated or supported, an assumption that echoes in the perceptions of Black people even today. The full announcement is short and worth reading. It’s actually a very good parallel to the purpose of Juneteenth as a holiday: the celebration of the ending of slavery, and the realization of how far we have yet to go toward true freedom and equality.

Here’s what I’m doing for Juneteenth:

1. Yesterday, I watched Jemar Tisby’s webinar he recorded last year on Juneteenth. It is full of some valuable teaching on the history of Emancipation, the horrors of slavery, and his recommendations on who should celebrate Juneteenth and how.

2. One thing I learned from Jemar is that as a white person, Juneteenth is different for me than for my Black friends, and that’s ok to acknowledge. This is a holiday that is first and foremost a celebration for Black Americans. Jemar encourages Black Americans especially to take advantage of the day off, being an official federal holiday now, and enjoy some well earned rest. White Americans should commemorate the day by looking for how we can encourage rest for our Black friends and by examining our role in systems of oppression.

3. I will wear a button with the Juneteenth flag on it wherever I go tomorrow, and hopefully remind people that this is an important day in the life of our country.

4. I have just signed up to take a 5-week class on anti-racism with Let’s Talk Race, an organization whose mission is “education and encouraging white Christians to engage in the ministry of reconciliation and justice.”

How will you celebrate or commemorate this special day?