Happy Juneteenth | From Raven's Writing Desk
Happy Juneteenth...
“You can’t move forward until you look back.” Cornel West
I come from a military family and I know you do not say “happy” memorial day. I was raised in that culture. I never fault someone for not knowing, but I will often correct them and offer better words to honor the holiday. In fact I did a post about just that this year.
… Sooooo… When it came to my post today, in honor of Juneteenth, I honestly did not know if you say “Happy” Juneteenth. I did a lot of research and education when I first learned about Juneteenth in 2020, I know the history and what it means, but yet, I still didn’t know how to open my post.
I of course did more research and in general, I found that it is appropriate to say “Happy Juneteenth”- yet it still feels uncomfortable to me. Finally, I came to the conclusion that it should bother you. It should be uncomfortable. Yes, it is a day of celebration but also a day of recognition of injustices in our culture. A holiday that was not even honored as a national holiday until a year ago! We are free of slavery but not racism. It’s an uncomfortable subject, but if you want change, you have to be willing to be uncomfortable.
I say Happy Juneteenth today - to honor of this important day, to celebrate how far we have come, but to show support for the ongoing freedom fight on this Juneteenth National Independence Day!
I stand as an ally, and encourage everyone to educate yourselves, uplift the black community (today and always), clear space for black voices, and honor this important day because Black History is American History!
“You can’t move forward until you look back.” Cornel West
I come from a military family and I know you do not say “happy” memorial day. I was raised in that culture. I never fault someone for not knowing, but I will often correct them and offer better words to honor the holiday. In fact I did a post about just that this year.
… Sooooo… When it came to my post today, in honor of Juneteenth, I honestly did not know if you say “Happy” Juneteenth. I did a lot of research and education when I first learned about Juneteenth in 2020, I know the history and what it means, but yet, I still didn’t know how to open my post.
I of course did more research and in general, I found that it is appropriate to say “Happy Juneteenth”- yet it still feels uncomfortable to me. Finally, I came to the conclusion that it should bother you. It should be uncomfortable. Yes, it is a day of celebration but also a day of recognition of injustices in our culture. A holiday that was not even honored as a national holiday until a year ago! We are free of slavery but not racism. It’s an uncomfortable subject, but if you want change, you have to be willing to be uncomfortable.
I say Happy Juneteenth today - to honor of this important day, to celebrate how far we have come, but to show support for the ongoing freedom fight on this Juneteenth National Independence Day!
I stand as an ally, and encourage everyone to educate yourselves, uplift the black community (today and always), clear space for black voices, and honor this important day because Black History is American History!
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