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.

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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.

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

No it doesn't. Please read up on it.

"Official" in the sense that, in Texas, people were still enslaved after the abolition of slavery. It took 6+ months for the remaining enslaved people to be freed. It's not like the plantation owning enslavers were gonna tell them.

It took 3.5 years, not 6 months.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juneteenth

3.5 is 6+ months, lol. I knew it was awhile, I just didn't know how long!

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

No it doesn't. Please read up on it.

"Official" in the sense that, in Texas, people were still enslaved after the abolition of slavery. It took 6+ months for the remaining enslaved people to be freed. It's not like the plantation owning enslavers were gonna tell them.

It took 3.5 years, not 6 months.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juneteenth

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

No it doesn't. Please read up on it.

"Official" in the sense that, in Texas, people were still enslaved after the abolition of slavery. It took 6+ months for the remaining enslaved people to be freed. It's not like the plantation owning enslavers were gonna tell them.

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Anonymous wrote:Sincere question. How should people--ALL PEOPLE-- celebrate Juneteenth? Is it a BBQ holiday like Memorial Day or July 4th? Is it a shop the sales holiday like Presidents' Day? Is it a day of service like MLK Day?

And what company's marketing department is going to tell me how to celebrate it? White people are looking for some direction here. How can I be an ally while recognizing a terrible part of our country's history?

My guess is that it's going evolve similar to how we celebrate Memorial Day or July 4th. A lot of people celebrate MLK with skiing. The point is that we remember, which we do regardless if it's burgers on the grill or an apres ski. Juneteenth festivals sound like fun. I don't want any company's marketing department to tell me how to celebrate it; this isn't Valentine's Day.

Nobody "celebrates" MLK day with skiing. They ignore MLK and what he stood for on his day by going skiing.

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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?

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Anonymous wrote:Sincere question. How should people--ALL PEOPLE-- celebrate Juneteenth? Is it a BBQ holiday like Memorial Day or July 4th? Is it a shop the sales holiday like Presidents' Day? Is it a day of service like MLK Day?

And what company's marketing department is going to tell me how to celebrate it? White people are looking for some direction here. How can I be an ally while recognizing a terrible part of our country's history?

My guess is that it's going evolve similar to how we celebrate Memorial Day or July 4th. A lot of people celebrate MLK with skiing. The point is that we remember, which we do regardless if it's burgers on the grill or an apres ski. Juneteenth festivals sound like fun. I don't want any company's marketing department to tell me how to celebrate it; this isn't Valentine's Day.

Nobody "celebrates" MLK day with skiing. They ignore MLK and what he stood for on his day by going skiing.

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Anonymous wrote:Sincere question. How should people--ALL PEOPLE-- celebrate Juneteenth? Is it a BBQ holiday like Memorial Day or July 4th? Is it a shop the sales holiday like Presidents' Day? Is it a day of service like MLK Day?

And what company's marketing department is going to tell me how to celebrate it? White people are looking for some direction here. How can I be an ally while recognizing a terrible part of our country's history?

My guess is that it's going evolve similar to how we celebrate Memorial Day or July 4th. A lot of people celebrate MLK with skiing. The point is that we remember, which we do regardless if it's burgers on the grill or an apres ski. Juneteenth festivals sound like fun. I don't want any company's marketing department to tell me how to celebrate it; this isn't Valentine's Day.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sincere question. How should people--ALL PEOPLE-- celebrate Juneteenth? Is it a BBQ holiday like Memorial Day or July 4th? Is it a shop the sales holiday like Presidents' Day? Is it a day of service like MLK Day?

And what company's marketing department is going to tell me how to celebrate it? White people are looking for some direction here. How can I be an ally while recognizing a terrible part of our country's history?

My guess is that it's going evolve similar to how we celebrate Memorial Day or July 4th. A lot of people celebrate MLK with skiing. The point is that we remember, which we do regardless if it's burgers on the grill or an apres ski. Juneteenth festivals sound like fun. I don't want any company's marketing department to tell me how to celebrate it; this isn't Valentine's Day.

Anonymous wrote:

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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?

Anonymous wrote:Sincere question. How should people--ALL PEOPLE-- celebrate Juneteenth? Is it a BBQ holiday like Memorial Day or July 4th? Is it a shop the sales holiday like Presidents' Day? Is it a day of service like MLK Day?

And what company's marketing department is going to tell me how to celebrate it? White people are looking for some direction here. How can I be an ally while recognizing a terrible part of our country's history?