Dr. Opal Lee, the mother of the Juneteenth federal holiday, said.
“If people can be taught to hate, they can be taught to love, but we need to know you can’t erase history.”
The failure of cities that observed Juneteenth since 2021, but this year cried “broke” doesn’t erase its history. From June 19th 1866 through now, Black people have celebrated Juneteenth. It is a celebration of freedom for all.
Fortunately, here in this small tourist town of Homer, Alaska, a group of people gathered in a storytelling circle and celebrated Juneteenth’s transformative history.
As Dr. Lee said.
We have simply got to make people aware that none of us are free until we’re all free and we aren’t free yet.
I was surprised when I felt tears rise in my eyes when I dedicated my storytelling to those who are still fighting for their freedom. The images of Palestinians, Sudanese refugees, and Salvadoran prisoners came to my mind.
So, I spoke of why we were celebrating. Even if it’s just a small group, or one or two readers, our words, our energy generates more and more movement for life, courage, and compassion.
Juneteenth represents over 200 years of unpaid Black labor, and over 400 years of underpaid labor that has built this country’s wealth and celebrates the aspiration we have yet to fully achieve.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
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