Question about Juneteenth

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a Black person, Juneteenth is hard for me. I just imagine being the last slave on the last plantation to get word. It makes me angry. That is not something I want to celebrate with white people. But I am not angry at white people. I imagine other people (likely the non-Texans), regardless of race, are still trying to figure out how to feel and how to recognize this day. And that’s OK.

I would rather go to a friends & family cookout, or a church activity, something of that sort. Not a city-wide “all are welcome” shindig. And definitely not a “day of service” community effort.

I just want a day to reflect (not celebrate) and relax.

I’m a white lady, and that’s what I suspected.

It’s interesting though how Juneteenth is portrayed as “Black 4th of July.” (See Blackish, Black AF, and the annual DC celebration)

It's probably not done with ill intent. Maybe an effort to understand a new to them tradition. Like casually equating Hannukah with being the Jewish Christmas. Ofcourse the answer is to become more educated about these traditions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I saw on IG some black accounts telling white people to stay home and they are not welcome

Ok share please

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a Black person, Juneteenth is hard for me. I just imagine being the last slave on the last plantation to get word. It makes me angry. That is not something I want to celebrate with white people. But I am not angry at white people. I imagine other people (likely the non-Texans), regardless of race, are still trying to figure out how to feel and how to recognize this day. And that’s OK.

I would rather go to a friends & family cookout, or a church activity, something of that sort. Not a city-wide “all are welcome” shindig. And definitely not a “day of service” community effort.

I just want a day to reflect (not celebrate) and relax.

I’m a white lady, and that’s what I suspected.

It’s interesting though how Juneteenth is portrayed as “Black 4th of July.” (See Blackish, Black AF, and the annual DC celebration)

It's probably not done with ill intent. Maybe an effort to understand a new to them tradition. Like casually equating Hannukah with being the Jewish Christmas. Ofcourse the answer is to become more educated about these traditions.

Hard to say.

You would think that Blackish and Black AF would portray Juneteenth appropriately.

I think Americans will grapple with it for a while before they land on whatever it will become. For now, it’s a new holiday for most Americans.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a Black person, Juneteenth is hard for me. I just imagine being the last slave on the last plantation to get word. It makes me angry. That is not something I want to celebrate with white people. But I am not angry at white people. I imagine other people (likely the non-Texans), regardless of race, are still trying to figure out how to feel and how to recognize this day. And that’s OK.

I would rather go to a friends & family cookout, or a church activity, something of that sort. Not a city-wide “all are welcome” shindig. And definitely not a “day of service” community effort.

I just want a day to reflect (not celebrate) and relax.

I’m a white lady, and that’s what I suspected.

It’s interesting though how Juneteenth is portrayed as “Black 4th of July.” (See Blackish, Black AF, and the annual DC celebration)

It's probably not done with ill intent. Maybe an effort to understand a new to them tradition. Like casually equating Hannukah with being the Jewish Christmas. Ofcourse the answer is to become more educated about these traditions.

Hard to say.

You would think that Blackish and Black AF would portray Juneteenth appropriately.

I think Americans will grapple with it for a while before they land on whatever it will become. For now, it’s a new holiday for most Americans.

Yup 40 or so years ago when MLK became a holiday the same thing happened. I think over time it will just be another day off for most folks like any of the other holidays.

[Anonymous]

I think there is a danger of merely “celebrating” Juneteenth and the end of slavery. Slavery ended, but discrimination didn’t, and people continue to lose their lives today because of the color of their skin, and millions of people are denied access to appropriate housing, transportation, education and other basic necessities. Heck, states like Texas are actively disenfranchising minorities as we speak.

Maybe instead of celebrating Juneteenth, we use it as a time of reflection on how far we’ve come, but how far we have to go.

[Anonymous]

This is a fascinating thread. It sounds like almost everyone, no matter their race, is either conflicted or confused about what exactly Juneteenth stands for, who should celebrate it, and how it should be celebrated (or not).

[Anonymous]

I'm a white person and I was invited to a Juneteenth "celebration". It was basically a backyard BBQ.

[Anonymous]

I feel like yeah I probably wouldn’t go to a small celebration unless explicitly invited but I am sure it will get more commercialized as the newness wears off and there will be large festivals in the burbs and people will go and not even think twice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My father is an old white dude who lives in a flyover state. He saw an ad for his town's Juneteenth event, touting food, music, and festivities, and it emphasized that everyone was welcome. He thought it sounded like fun and wanted to show his support, so he and my mother went to the event. He was surprised to see that only about 5% of attendees were white, and thought that maybe he'd crashed a party that no one really wanted him at. For context, he lives in a liberal college town that is fairly diverse (for the region).

I'm curious--do people see Juneteenth as truly a holiday for everyone to celebrate, or is that mostly just lip service, and he should have read between the lines that this is a holiday for Black Americans? If you are Black, would you be happy to see other races celebrating Juneteenth with you, or would you prefer this to be an event primarily for Black people to celebrate together?

It's a holiday for everyone. The fact that so few white people chose to come to the celebration says something about the white people, not the intentions of the people who planned and hosted the event.

No it doesn't. I think of Juneteenth as a family-oriented holiday, with a picnic or backyard bbq. I grew up in Texas. Not going to a public event doesn't say anything about anyone. Nor does going.

Sheesh.

NP. DH grew up in Texas and said people here are making it into a way bigger deal than it ever was for him. He grew up with this and is at work today, because it’s a regular work day for them. I happen to be off work the kids and it’s a regular day to us. Honestly, last year was the first year I ever heard of it.

I also grew up in Texas and recall the extent of it being a 20 second clip on the news showing a bunch of people at Galveston beach.

https://www.kcbx.org/npr-top-news/2022-06-20/the-new-juneteenth-federal-holiday-traces-its-roots-to-galveston-texas

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think there is a danger of merely “celebrating” Juneteenth and the end of slavery. Slavery ended, but discrimination didn’t, and people continue to lose their lives today because of the color of their skin, and millions of people are denied access to appropriate housing, transportation, education and other basic necessities. Heck, states like Texas are actively disenfranchising minorities as we speak.

Maybe instead of celebrating Juneteenth, we use it as a time of reflection on how far we’ve come, but how far we have to go.

Like the ladies twerking on the hoods of trucks at the dc event before the shooting?

I think black Americans should figure out how they want to celebrate or take action first and then they can tell the rest of us what we should do.

I doubt this will become something universal like July 4th, Cinco de Mayo, St. Patrick’s Day, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know why it's called "Juneteenth" and not like emancipation day or something else?

It's a regional holiday that evolved naturally, and then when the feds were looking for a way to commemorate the end of slavery, they chose to make it national.

But it's not emancipation day. That's a different day.

Could be called "Last emancipation day" instead of "Juneteenth."

Why?

In Maryland, Emancipation Day is celebrated in early November. Maryland was one of the first states to abolish slavery, ending it in 1864 a year before the Emancipation Proclamation. Juneteenth is a national holiday celebrating the end of slavery. It did start out as a Texas regional celebration and now it's a Federal Holiday..

But why is this the national day of the celebration of end of slavery? It's the day some general in Texas made a declaration. It wasn't national.

But that's the point. The slaves did not know they were free until General Gordon Granger told them. Juneteeth is the date when the last of the slaves were freed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Juneteenth celebrates the official end of slavery in the US. It is an American holiday we should celebrate, regardless of skin tone.

I agree, but as a white American, I’m not sure that African Americans would would feel the same?

[Anonymous]

Can blacks celebrate St. Patrick's day?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can blacks celebrate St. Patrick's day?

They can and they do! Everyone is Irish on St. Paddy's Day.

[Anonymous]

My partner and I wanted to go to our local celebration but were hesitant. We saw several social media posts by Black individuals who basically said the same thing: white people stay away, let us have something that's all ours.

We decided to not attend and respect those feelings. We did drive by and saw hardly any white people there. We decided to just show our support by visiting our favorite Black-owned restaurant for lunch.

It'll definitely be interesting to see how the holiday celebrations develop in the future.

Like, we didn't want to step on anyone's toes... but we also don't want there to be an attitude by others in our community that white people don't care. Very tricky to navigate.