JuneTeenth is now a federal holiday but at least half the states in this nation have not made it an official state holiday. President Biden only signed this holiday into law in 2021. It is celebrated because of the final release of slaves in Galveston Texas in June of 1865. However, there were still people enslaved in Texas and other states after this date.

As a black person, I’m torn if this day should be celebrated considering it was releasing black people from being property. True, it was an end of a brutal era but just like the reason behind Memorial Day, are these holidays to be celebrated? In America, we’ve grown accustomed to celebrating a brutal history instead of commemorating it.

We have the barbecues, the shop sales, etc and we may have special church ceremonies, which in my mind seems a more appropriate way to celebrate it. I guarantee that most people do not look at the true meaning of our holidays, to be honest, I know I don’t. We just see it as a day off to see family or friends, drink, smoke, dance and have a good time. Have we normalized the reality of what our ancestors went through to eat a burger?

We have commercialized days that should be held in reverence. I wonder what our ancestors think as they look at us celebrating their deaths. I know my feelings won’t change things much but at least I have the thought, and hope this will inspire you to look into how this holiday came about.