Today we celebrate Juneteenth. Juneteenth recognizes the day in 1865 when enslaved people living and working in Texas learned from Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger and the Union Army that they had been freed from bondage — two months after the Civil War had ended and two-and-a-half years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.
Juneteenth offers us an opportunity to reflect on the unfinished business of building a just and inclusive democratic society and advocating for equity in our workplaces and beyond. Union nurses celebrate and honor Juneteenth by continuing the fight against racism in their workplaces and to ensure all patients get the care they need.
Nurses dare to imagine a better system where care is the guiding principle, health care is free and equitable to all, and nurses reflect the patient population and community. Winning Medicare for All is a crucial part of this work.
Over 30 million people in the United States lack health insurance, and over half of those without it are Black, Indigenous, or People of Color. Communities of color are disproportionately bearing the brunt of our broken, profit-driven system. Winning Medicare for All is one important way that we can honor the legacy of the long struggle for racial justice in the United States.
As we work to advance toward racial justice, we hope you will take a moment today to read about the ways nurses are honoring Juneteenth. Click here to read more.
In solidarity,
Nurses’ Campaign to Win Medicare for All