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[quote=Anonymous]As with many holidays, celebrations will range from the small and personal, to larger community activities, to even larger, possibly more commercialized events.  To respond to the OP’s question, I think it’s great that your parents went to the event, and I’m sure that everyone was, indeed, welcome.

As a Black woman, I think it’s important for everyone to know our history, and to celebrate our freedoms, and I completely support racially and culturally inclusive events and experiences that do that.

Personally, my feelings about the holiday are complicated. Juneteenth celebrates freedom, but it also highlights the unwillingness of many  to acknowledge those freedoms until they were forced to do so.  “Freedom” was also quickly followed by Jim Crow laws, the growth of groups like the KKK, and the use of law enforcement agencies to viciously enforce legal segregation, and, often, white supremacy. I spent the holiday quietly, reading “My Grandmother’s Hands — Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies” — a book intended primarily for Black and white American audiences, listening to music (Jon Batiste), sharing conversations and food with friends, and meditating.  Next year, perhaps, I’ll do something on a larger scale.  This year I wanted to acknowledge my ancestors and my accomplishments. I wanted to fill my own spaces and acknowledge my own needs. Next year, I may acknowledge and celebrate Juneteenth in completely different ways.

While I would have been open to share these activities with anyone, my only caveat is that, at least for now, I’d resent being put in the role of “explaining” Juneteenth to someone who treated me as available for their own educational experience rather than for my own.

tldr: It’s for everyone! [/quote]

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