Ever since I started working a cash register in a grocery store our sales of BBQ foods and “soul food” items have spike the first two weeks of June among the Black customers. To the point the store orders extras and runs sales on these items. Why? Juneteenth. Not universal in this area but your notion that this holiday doesn’t matter outside of Texas is false. A White owned grocery store that has, for years, been more than happy to supply Black customers celebrating what, until this year, was an unofficial holiday says more than your opinion does.
Maybe this was never a big deal in West Virginia where you live. Fair enough. But my experience living in Detroit, Chicago, and now Gary, Indiana over most of my life has been that quite a few people have celebrated Juneteenth over the years. It’s not universal in the Black community, but then, that “community” is made up of millions of individuals who are all different people, they’re never going to agree on everything. Just like every other community of human beings.
I do find it sad how many White people have their panties in a bunch over this. Me, I don’t feel I should have a say in this, and meanwhile I’m happy to help my customers get supplies for whatever they are celebrating any day of the year.
All those non-Texan Blacks who’ve celebrated it for generations : fuck 'em, they don’t count, eh?
Me, I’m not surprised in the slightest. Some Whites just don’t want Blacks to “have nice things” even when it’s no skin off their nose. You can draw a direct line from Tulsa, 1921 to the current anti-Juneteenth hubbubb. A powdery chalk line.
But let’s assume we did make Blackberry Festival a national holiday. In that case, whose voice should be authoritative in when the date gets set? I would not-so-humbly submit that the Blackberry-Fest-goers should own that entire privilege.
Why should it fall to people who never gave the festival a second thought except to grouse “argle bargle, this fest is not on the exact precise date that blackberries were introduced into Kenosha County.” Those people never cared one iota about blackberries until they learned it’s a new holiday that they didn’t get to define. They’re adding an irrelevant degree of rigor for no other purpose than to rain on the parade.
That’s an astounding statement. We should have a blacks only vote? And did we have one? And how to I explain this to my daughter? “Honey, forty years before you were born, some people in other states didn’t allow blacks to vote. That was terrible. As a result, you get no say in this new national holiday. Your opinion doesn’t matter.”
And even according to your rules, we had a white majority vote in Congress about the date of the holiday. Where do I look to find this groundswell of black support for a false historical date? News articles of various local festivals?
Yes, you should sit your daughter down and have a heart-to-heart conversation about “I’m sorry honey, you know this historical event that neither of us gave a fig about last year? It’s now a holiday and we weren’t consulted. I’m so sorry.” Or whatever it takes for you to get through this.
To be frank, it seems like what’s bothering you most is that you weren’t personally consulted about it, and I find this hilarious. Or rather, I’d find it hilarious if I didn’t know that white people will take a petty grievance like this and hand it down across generations like a priceless family heirloom.
I’ll reiterate plainly, once again, that the historical date is not false. You’re the one who is repeatedly and falsely stating that others are misrepresenting history. I will once again point out that you haven’t once provided evidence, instead you falsely point to someone else’s alleged evidence that you (conveniently) can’t be bothered to quote and cite. Because you know it doesn’t actually support you.
And since your entire thesis rests on this falsehood, well, I’m sorry to say it’s crap.
As stated before this date is in error. The 13th Amendment was ratified on December 6, 1865. If anyone is pushing for the holiday to be on the “correct” day it should at least be the correct day.
Sound about right, minus some minor details such as all that slavery before the voting, then the Jim Crow and the lynchings before the voting as well, then the racist laws after Blacks got the vote, oh, and the continued resistance to Blacks having anything nice, and all the Karening, and the racist policing…
But your last sentence? That one is spot on. Or better yet “My opinion doesn’t matter. But I’m going to drag you into it as a transparent appeal to emotion”
How do you know it was Juneteenth, specifically? That was also Father’s Day weekend, and only two weeks before the long Independence Day weekend. How do you know they were buying BBQ items for Juneteenth, and not the others?
I will note that I am a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. We have an African Decent Lutheran Association, whose local chapter in Atlanta have had a Juneteenth event and worship service for a number of years. There was no NAACP attendance or permiting required, as the event was always held at a church.
Seems to me it was a long standing celebration among the African Decent members of ELCA congregations without any political considerations or whatever other excuses that minimize this celebration.
But it was announced on December 18. You wouldn’t think that a guy in Delaware would free his slaves before he was informed of it? This is like the July 2/July 4 distinction upthread. Nitpickery.
About June 19? It’s not nitpickery. Many media outlets have falsely claimed that is when slavery ended in the United States. The establishment of the holiday on that day promotes the false narrative.
@HughGoply gave five examples above. And even when the news articles qualify their statements, the public, good people but ignorant of history, still understands June 19 as being “the” day.
Then the problem isn’t the news articles that tell the whole story, it is the ignorant people…a problem that might be alleviated once Juneteenth becomes more established.
People who are ignorant about the date which slavery was abolished will be less ignorant once the false date is more firmly established in their minds?
This misrepresents what I said. Being told what Juneteenth is about will alleviate their ignorance. Juneteenth is NOT a “false date” for what it is meant to celebrate. Reinforcing and/or pandering to ignorance is the wrong way to handle this, in my opinion.
Do you agree that June 19, 1865 (or including any other close dates like the July 2/July 4 distinction) is NOT the date that slavery ended in the United States? If so, then it is a false national holiday because many people, national news people, are reporting and telling people that as fact.
So, instead of trying to alleviate ignorance, you wish to pander to it? Do you know what Juneteenth is supposed to be about? If you do, tell people.
If you don’t, it is high time you should learn.
To the contrary. Make December 18 the date. It is now a national holiday. Not a black or white holiday. A national one. Like the whole nation which includes we white folks. If a few people in Texas or elsewhere, or thousands or them, got drunk and partied on June 19 for the last 100 years and still do, then good for them, they can still do it.
But, alleviate the ignorance of anyone who believes that slavery ended on June 19, 1865 by setting the date on when slavery actually ended. Or if you choose not to do that, set it for the second Tuesday of August. No problem. Don’t set a pretend date.
It is NOT a pretend date for what it is meant to commemorate.
Do you even know what Juneteenth is supposed to be about, or are you just going to keep repeating your “It is a false date for the end of slavery!” mantra over and over and over again?