In all fairness dviss...you'd probably be hard pressed to find a dozen people who could tell you when the Civil War ended and in my case when Irish independence was declared....dates...memorize and forget them...from what I've read it was not declared a holiday in 1865.....Hillary Clinton was addressing in as late as 2012 and I thought it was first introduced in Texas in 1979.....don't have the article in front of me...I do know Taiwan's liberation date from mainland China....teaching is great..chastising anyone for lacking the knowledge though...not necessary
No it hasn't. It celebrates an event that happened 154 years ago (word reaching Texas that the Emancipation Proclamation had ended slavery), but it's not a national holiday. It's currently recognized as a holiday in 45 states and the District of Columbia. Oregon didn't formally recognize it until 2001 when Senate Joint Resolution 31 was adopted. At that time, only Idaho, Texas, Florida, Oklahoma, Delaware and Alaska had formally recognized the day. In Portland, the date has been celebrated for 45 years with a parade that was founded by Clara Peoples. The amount of time passing has little to do with something being recognized. Word has to be spread through action. There hasn't been enough of that.
Frankly, It's not a holiday we'd share with white people. It's been suppressed from you all for a reason. But celebration of the holiday and Emancipation means shit until this unarmed black men stop being stopped by the police like THIS...
These may be some of the saddest words I've seen written in a post on this board. The founders of the Juneteenth movement in Portland, Clara Peoples and Ora Lee Green, didn't feel that way. From an Oregonlive piece on Juneteenth: That spirit is recognized in the text of Senate Joint Resolution 31:
REALLY?? Those are the saddest words written on a post on this board??? Really??? After all the posts about police KILLING, brutality, and mass incarceration the fact that I say this is the saddest to you??? REALLY??? When Lincoln "Emancipated" us there STILL were pockets of the country that allowed slavery. And that MF wanted us ALL to go back to a place most of us had NEVER BEEN TO. Talmbout some 4 score and 7 years ago... That's 87 years... FUCKING SHAMEFUL... Here, let me trump your "saddest words" with this.. More black people being killed just for being black. Take a trip through history... Blacks were slaughtered by whites in an episode forgotten by history books October 1, 2018 American streets ran with blood in 1919. In the small town of Elaine, Arkansas, racial tensions turned brutally violent after African-American sharecroppers tried to unionize. A staggering 237 people were estimated to be hunted down and killed in what is now known as the Elaine Massacre. The bloodbath made its way all the way up to the United States Supreme Court. This is “Dark History” by the New York Post.
We know why it isn't a national holiday... You misunderstand... It's been a holiday for US for that long...
Not more sad than words that you JUST posted... Maybe they're only sad to some... "Whereas the Independence Day movement initiated by the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, did not include the enslaved descendants of Africans, nor were they recognized as full human beings under the Declaration of Independence" MUCH more sad than: Which for some reason you think WE suppressed you from learning about the holiday.. No, that was done by white people. MM just said it's not a nationally recognized holiday. This why...
Blacks were routinely murdered in the deep South, usually at night, during the first half of the 19th century. It let up a bit in the mid 60s and even more in the latter part of the 19th century. I can say with complete confidence that it still goes on and it's no wonder that our Black citizens are fed up with it, I would be too. I would say that I'm pretty fed up with it as I type. No one should feel free until we all feel free.
You left out the modifier, "some of", dviss1. I included those words intentionally. And I was referring to posts written by forum members, not atrocities culled out of history or current events. And the word "sad" does not mean that I'm saying you're wrong. I'm simply saying that after more than 156 years have passed since the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, it's horribly sad that an African American in this country still feels that the holiday belongs to "his" people. Sad that there are still sound reasons why you feel that way. Sad that I was never taught in public schools in this state that there was something called Juneteenth that recognized the end of slavery and have never even heard mention of it anywhere in the press or elsewhere until I read this thread. Sad that you don't seem to appreciate that there are white people in this country who would love to celebrate a holiday that recognizes the formal end to the greatest stain, along with what was done to Native Americans, on the history of our country. Sad that there is still this "us" that excludes people of different racial backgrounds despite the vast numbers of people of all racial backgrounds who have helped historically and today to pay the price for the end of slavery and the advancement civil rights. Sad that there still exist such huge racial divides despite all of the money and efforts spent on various programs and entitlements intended to help disadvantaged minorities. And, just really freakin', abominably sad that the human heart is capable of such callous, dark, and evil disregard for basic human rights and dignity as to enslave someone for economic advantage or sexual gratification. Your statement just made me really, deeply sad.
So then recognize the truth. It does belong to my people. And yes there is an Us and a Them. Stop acting like this doesn't exist and simply acknowledge it. And don't tell me what I appreciate about white people. I have GOOD white people in my family.... That's my brother Cameron with the Beard: My brother Joel at his USC Graduation. The whole family flew down: My blind lawyer Uncle Don (LIBERTARIAN): My beautiful Nephew Jack... You could SWIM in his eyes. He used to give me hugs and say "so much" instead of I love you because he couldn't form the words yet: STOP WITH THIS... The funniest thing is that every white person in my family (EVERY ONE) understands their privilege and are ALLIES in the fight with me. They don't get offended about anything I say here about white people because they KNOW who I'm talking about and that it doesn't apply to them. (Figure this shit out. The double standard is real). Y'all barely know about it Juneteenth and make sure to tell me shit like "it's not a national holiday" in this very thread... Well then FUCK IT. In general, white people make fun of Kwanzaa, don't understand or give a fuck about Juneteenth, but worse than that: We're being killed and imprisoned at disproportionate rates. The disparity in our health system and outcomes is CRIMINAL. We continue to be oppressed and you think me saying saying the holiday most white people don't know or care about doesn't belong to them is sad... I guess me saying that opens up a can of worms when it comes to ALL of what ails black people in this country. What we want, is those GOOD white folk who stood up for us during civil rights to help here too. That help is few and far between.
A conversation is usually best when one person isn't telling the other one what to do and what to think. Next year maybe I'll just sneakily celebrate Juneteenth and not tell anyone.
I think the OP question has enlightened many, myself included. I will recognize Juneteenth. Whether anyone wants me to or not. Open-mindedness and inclusion are vital.
Let's remember this stuff when it comes to what black people are dealing with as a whole. Because I can't stand when white people gentrify and then put a black lives matter sign in their new yard.
You're not understanding me. I'm not telling you not to celebrate Juneteenth. What I'm saying is keep that same energy when you see the next cop guns one of us down while unarmed... I'm also telling you not to assume you know anything about me and how I feel about the good white people in my family.
Since I knew nothing about the “good white people in your family”, I’m not sure how you figure I was telling you how to feel about them. Be that as it may, I am firmly in favor of bad cops getting prosecuted to the full extent of the law. You know dviss1, you’re about as prickly as a cactus. You’re not particularly easy to like, but somehow I do. Guess I’m just a glutton for your punishment.
There are good white people everywhere. Just like there are good black people everywhere. Just like there are shitty white and black people everywhere. As a society, we need to stop judging people on the color of their skin, and focus on if they are an asshole or not.
