Juneteenth

[dbt1949]

I think that's how you spell it. The feds just made it a national holiday. What for?
I think it has something to do with some Union troops at the end of the ACW who found some slaves and told them they were no longer slaves.
Is that about it? This is national holiday material?

[Alefroth]

Emancipation should definitely get a national holiday. Whichever day that those most closely affected by it choose doesn't matter to me.

[Smoove_B]

What you should know about this important day:

On June 19, 1865, Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger, who had fought for the Union, led a force of soldiers to Galveston, Texas, to deliver a very important message: the war was finally over, the Union had won, and it now had the manpower to enforce the end of slavery. The announcement came two months after the effective conclusion of the Civil War, and even longer since Abraham Lincoln had first signed the Emancipation Proclamation, but many enslaved black people in Texas still weren't free, even after that day.

...

"'If you want to commemorate something, you literally have to buy land to commemorate it on' is, I think, just a really potent example of the long-lasting reality of white supremacy," Walsh said.

Nevertheless, black Americans found a way to continue to celebrate and lift each other up. Early on, Juneteenth celebrations often involved helping newly freed black folks learn about their voting rights, according to the Texas State Historical Association. Rodeos and horseback riding were also common. Now, Juneteenth celebrations commonly involve cookouts, parades, church services, musical performances and other public events, Walsh explained.

It's a day to "commemorate the hardships endured by ancestors," Walsh said. He added, "It really exemplifies the survival instinct, the ways that we as a community really make something out of nothing. ... It's about empowerment and hopefulness."

It's pretty sad that as an American man closing in on 50, I had to learn about Juneteenth from the Internet and the Tulsa race massacre from a show on HBO. Maybe things will be better for the next generation.

[Alefroth]

Will there be mail delivery tomorrow?

[Smoove_B]

Will there be mail delivery tomorrow?

Can't stop the signal:

“The U.S. Postal Service is fully supportive of the new Juneteenth National Independence Day Act and making June 19 a federal holiday. Unfortunately, it is not possible to cease the operations of the Postal Service to accommodate an observance over the next 24-48 hours," the postal service said in a statement.

"We are part of the nation’s critical infrastructure and our customers are relying on us to deliver our essential services. Closing down our operations without providing appropriate time would lead to operational disruptions and be a disservice to our customers and those who rely upon us. For that reason, the Postal Service will be operating on June 18 and 19, 2021, on a normal schedule, serving our customers to the best of our ability."

[Alefroth]

That's what I figured. I work at a credit union, and we aren't closing either. We had already planned to close Saturday before it became official.

[hentzau]

My company made this a US company holiday last year, and did a ton of education along with it. Glad to see the nation following suit.

Now, how about a national voting holiday?

[Kraken]

It's pretty sad that as an American man closing in on 50, I had to learn about Juneteenth from the Internet and the Tulsa race massacre from a show on HBO. Maybe things will be better for the next generation.

I'm 64, and same experience.

Mass. made it a state holiday last July, so tomorrow is the first official observance. The Institute is closed and I have no work to do. In fact, the administration made a point of urging everyone to stay off our email and screens. Well OK then.

I had thought that we were ahead of the curve here until I read that 48 states had some form of official recognition. Feels overdue, even if it's new to me.

[hitbyambulance]

It's pretty sad that as an American man closing in on 50, I had to learn about Juneteenth from the Internet and the Tulsa race massacre from a show on HBO. Maybe things will be better for the next generation.

i continue to be dismayed at the lack of knowledge of Black American history in general in this country, especially amongst certain people i know (online and off) who _should_ know better. there are a lot of areas that i took for common knowledge that have turned out to not be.

[Drazzil]

Yeah lets hang a LGBTQ and racially inclusive glove on the fascist fist. That'll do it.

[Daehawk]

It has a terrible name.

[Alefroth]

It's full name is Juneteenth National Emancipation Day.

[LordMortis]

Emancipation should definitely get a national holiday. Whichever day that those most closely affected by it choose doesn't matter to me.

This. Right along side of memorial day, thanksgiving, and Independence Day. It's a day of observance.

It's pretty sad that as an American man closing in on 50, I had to learn about Juneteenth from the Internet and the Tulsa race massacre from a show on HBO. Maybe things will be better for the next generation.

Also this, though both on the Internet in his 40s.

[Jag]

What you should know about this important day:

On June 19, 1865, Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger, who had fought for the Union, led a force of soldiers to Galveston, Texas, to deliver a very important message: the war was finally over, the Union had won, and it now had the manpower to enforce the end of slavery. The announcement came two months after the effective conclusion of the Civil War, and even longer since Abraham Lincoln had first signed the Emancipation Proclamation, but many enslaved black people in Texas still weren't free, even after that day.

...

"'If you want to commemorate something, you literally have to buy land to commemorate it on' is, I think, just a really potent example of the long-lasting reality of white supremacy," Walsh said.

Nevertheless, black Americans found a way to continue to celebrate and lift each other up. Early on, Juneteenth celebrations often involved helping newly freed black folks learn about their voting rights, according to the Texas State Historical Association. Rodeos and horseback riding were also common. Now, Juneteenth celebrations commonly involve cookouts, parades, church services, musical performances and other public events, Walsh explained.

It's a day to "commemorate the hardships endured by ancestors," Walsh said. He added, "It really exemplifies the survival instinct, the ways that we as a community really make something out of nothing. ... It's about empowerment and hopefulness."

It's pretty sad that as an American man closing in on 50, I had to learn about Juneteenth from the Internet and the Tulsa race massacre from a show on HBO. Maybe things will be better for the next generation.

Not in FL where they banned teaching it in schools. It's great they did this, but I also agree that Election Day should be a national holiday. Maybe swap it with Columbus Day. Dude was a creep who refused to ask for directions.

[YellowKing]

It's pretty sad that as an American man closing in on 50, I had to learn about Juneteenth from the Internet and the Tulsa race massacre from a show on HBO. Maybe things will be better for the next generation.

I literally had never heard the term before last year, and learned it from this forum.

[stessier]

It's pretty sad that as an American man closing in on 50, I had to learn about Juneteenth from the Internet and the Tulsa race massacre from a show on HBO. Maybe things will be better for the next generation.

I literally had never heard the term before last year, and learned it from this forum.

I learned it from watching Black-ish.

[Sudy]

Someone tell me why Washington's Birthday and Columbus Day were already federal holidays, and this was not.

Yeah lets hang a LGBTQ and racially inclusive glove on the fascist fist. That'll do it.

[Unagi]

I think that's how you spell it. The feds just made it a national holiday. What for?
I think it has something to do with some Union troops at the end of the ACW who found some slaves and told them they were no longer slaves.
Is that about it? This is national holiday material?

That’s the story behind ‘the day’, but the holiday is to honor/celebrate emancipation for all the slaves, for our history.

Honest question : do you Not feel that’s national holiday material?

[dbt1949]

I don't feel it's important enough. But then again I don't think half the federal holidays are important enough.
But then I'm not in charge so I accept them all.

[stessier]

I don't feel it's important enough. But then again I don't think half the federal holidays are important enough.
But then I'm not in charge so I accept them all.

Now I'm curious which ones make the cut.

[LawBeefaroni]

I don't feel it's important enough. But then again I don't think half the federal holidays are important enough.
But then I'm not in charge so I accept them all.

There's always another holiday that could be added to the list of Federal holidays. It's all about timing.

Personally I'd rather see Juneteenth take on cultural significance organically than get a Federal holiday that gets largely ignored.

For the last 5 years I've marked it with a co-worker who brought the tradition to the office. She left last the company week, actually, and I'm really feeling her absence today.

[ImLawBoy]

I think it has taken on significance organically (see all the people in this thread who have learned about it in the last few years), and making it a federal holiday is a step in furtherance of that.

[Blackhawk]

I'm 100% on board. It's overdue.

Now, if we can just convince someone to turn Columbus Day into Indigenous Peoples' Day...

[Holman]

It has a terrible name.

June 19th acquired the name Juneteenth as folk terminology long before anyone "officialized" it.

[TheMix]

It's pretty sad that as an American man closing in on 50, I had to learn about Juneteenth from the Internet and the Tulsa race massacre from a show on HBO. Maybe things will be better for the next generation.

I literally had never heard the term before last year, and learned it from this forum.

Me too.

[LawBeefaroni]

I think it has taken on significance organically (see all the people in this thread who have learned about it in the last few years), and making it a federal holiday is a step in furtherance of that.

To be clear, I have no problem with the federal holiday, I just think it is half-assed and right now is fodder for the CRT nonsense.

Having overwhelming support first and then declaring the holiday tends to be more sticky. Heck, MLK day still isn't what I would consider a full on holiday after ~30 years. No mail, federal offices, and some banks are closed. That's it. To me that highlights a problem rather than celebrates progress. I mean fuck, some states celebrate King-Lee day, honoring MLK and Robert E Lee. Can't wait to see that they come up with for Junteenth.


Juneteenth as a national holiday is great but for too many people it's a triumph or a purging of guilt. It's not, it's barely a start.

[Blackhawk]

It has a terrible name.

June 19th acquired the name Juneteenth as folk terminology long before anyone "officialized" it.

And if the people that the holiday is about want to call it something, that's what we call it.

[Blackhawk]

Actually, I'd like to find a good documentary (or failing that, a YouTube video) on the history of the holiday to have the family watch tomorrow. I need to look into that.

[ImLawBoy]

The twins had a few videos last year they received from school, but they were aimed at kindergartners, so I'm guessing that probably wouldn't help you.

[Madmarcus]

I find it odd that so many people on this forum hadn't known about Juneteenth until recently. I learned about it probably 30+ years ago while I lived in Texas. Since then I've heard about it off and on as a bit of historical trivia / on this day in history type of thing. Is the specific event itself worthy of a big national holiday? Shrug, probably not but neither is the actual events that we have turned into Thanksgiving.

My biggest feeling is that it feels like a better Federal holiday than MLK day. Something about a Federal holiday celebrating one person bugs me. I'm a fan of President's Day over Washington's Birthday also.

[dbt1949]

Personally the only holidays that make the cut for me are. Independence Day, Memorial Day and New Years. We don't need holidays for people's birthdays. Labor Day? Please. religious holidays in a country where we try to separate religion and government? Not Columbus day or even veterans day.
I would go for a an Emancipation holiday if it were for maybe Lincoln's Emancipation of the slaves or perhaps the 13th amendment. Indigenous People's day instead of Columbus day would not be out of the question. I'm not sure about Thanksgiving. What are we celebrating? Religion?

[stimpy]

In l33t speak, wouldnt juneteenth be the 16?

[stimpy]

I find it odd that so many people on this forum hadn't known about Juneteenth until recently.

It's hip and trendy to be a woke white person these days, so there's that......

[Skinypupy]

I find it odd that so many people on this forum hadn't known about Juneteenth until recently. I learned about it probably 30+ years ago while I lived in Texas.

I never remember it being mentioned even a single time when I attended public school in Utah and Colorado. First time I ever heard of it was in college, and even then it was only briefly mentioned in passing during a history class.

[ImLawBoy]

I find it odd that so many people on this forum hadn't known about Juneteenth until recently. I learned about it probably 30+ years ago while I lived in Texas. Since then I've heard about it off and on as a bit of historical trivia / on this day in history type of thing. Is the specific event itself worthy of a big national holiday? Shrug, probably not but neither is the actual events that we have turned into Thanksgiving.

My biggest feeling is that it feels like a better Federal holiday than MLK day. Something about a Federal holiday celebrating one person bugs me. I'm a fan of President's Day over Washington's Birthday also.

My understanding is that Juneteenth had always been more widely celebrated in the South, and in particular in Texas. I remember hearing about it years ago because there were news reports of parties in Atlanta, but those reports seemed to focus more on "OMG! Black people are gathering and partying!" than on the reason for the celebrations. I only became aware of the actual reason for it a few years ago, I think.

[dbt1949]

I had never heard the term until the last couple of weeks.

[Blackhawk]

I grew up in a lot of places, but while I was around large Asian and Hispanic communities, I never lived anywhere with a large Black community. I'd never heard the term until last year myself.

[Blackhawk]

I find it odd that so many people on this forum hadn't known about Juneteenth until recently.

It's hip and trendy to be a woke white person these days, so there's that......

Mostly as a result of it becoming hip and trendy to be openly racist. White people were largely (self-) deluded into thinking that a thing we didn't see didn't exist anymore, so we didn't pay much attention. Certain segments of the population have shown us how wrong we were. So you can throw around 'woke' like a slur, but it really is just another word for 'educated.'

[Combustible Lemur]

good interview about juneteenth the application of it as a holiday, critical race theory (the actual context) and its positions and misuse, and how all of this plays out across politics. 31:35.
The particular thing I learned was that CRT is a legal theory are of study. I new it was just a Academia area of study i didnt realize it had to do with torts. Mmmm tortes.

Also Maddow her opener might get you misty eyed and convey anecdote of what this holiday is about.

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk

[hepcat]

I find it odd that so many people on this forum hadn't known about Juneteenth until recently.

It's hip and trendy to be a woke white person these days, so there's that......

Mostly as a result of it becoming hip and trendy to be openly racist. White people were largely (self-) deluded into thinking that a thing we didn't see didn't exist anymore, so we didn't pay much attention. Certain segments of the population have shown us how wrong we were. So you can throw around 'woke' like a slur, but it really is just another word for 'educated.'

I couldn't think of a reply so I'll just say this one is perfect.

Complaining about a holiday that celebrates the liberation of an enslaved race (an historical fact, no matter what Fox News and Trumpers tell you) is far more damning for you.