Until Everybody is Free: Juneteenth Reflections
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"No one of us can be free until everybody is free." --Maya Angelou
When Maya Angelou said these words, she was reflecting broadly on the state of (in)equality in the United States, in a CNN interview with Anderson Cooper. While this interview was not about Juneteenth per se, I think about her words often in relation to the holiday. Juneteenth commemorates the last date of the liberation of enslaved people, when military intervention was used to force the hand of the former confederates clinging to free and forced labor to continue to drive their economy. We often talk about Juneteenth as the date when enslaved people in Galveston TX, belatedly learned about their emancipation--as if they were slow to catch on, as if they missed the memo, as if it were somehow their fault that they didn't learn of their liberation until later--and infrequently discuss the deliberate withholding of information that was involved. This NPR story shares a powerful but brief 1941 recording of a former enslaved person recalling June 19, 1865:
The abolition of slavery and emancipation impacted various parts of the country at different times, beginning with Vermont in 1777. The National Museum of African American History and Culture has more details on Vermont's journey to abolition. We don't have big celebrations in July to commemorate Vermont's abolition of slavery (side note: maybe we should start this tradition though, because VT is lowkey kinda dope for summer frolicking. Freedom Frolic Festival anyone?!).
This graphic on Brilliant Maps shows how and when slavery was abolished by state:
This map provides a clear visual representation of the nearly 100 year process of abolition and then emancipation moving from the northeast to the western and southern United States. It is the end of this journey that we celebrate, rather than each individual victory. When I think about why, I think about Maya Angelou's words: "no one of us can be free until everybody is free." Black Americans are regionally diverse in our linguistic and culinary traditions, in our music and dance practices, and in so many other ways. We have more in common than we have different though, and the importance of community liberty and prosperity has been central to our survival for hundreds of years. It is this focus on "we" that is among our greatest weapons. The creation of the commemoration of Juneteenth most certainly belongs to the people of Galveston TX, who planted the first seeds of this annual celebration. It is because of their commitment to anchoring in their joy that we all now have a moment to reflect on the meaning of freedom and collective liberation.
If you want to learn more about the history and significance of Juneteenth, check out this documentary from Houston's KHOU-11:
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