Yesterday, I celebrated Juneteenth with folks in my district – from Randolph, to Chelsea, to Roxbury – and there was one resounding feeling in the air: unapologetic JOY.

Juneteenth celebrates the freeing of the last enslaved people in the United States — more than two years after the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation.

Imagine the jubilation. After generations upon generations of family members were enslaved, the last people in Galveston, Texas were finally freed. Even two years too late. Just imagine the joy.

The journey to liberation has been long. It’s no secret that the history and legacy of slavery continues to live on and impact Black people in America every day. From the failed promises of Reconstruction to the violence of Jim Crow and segregation. In the 1960s Civil Rights movement to abolish legalized discrimination, Black Americans were met with fire hoses, bombs, and death threats. And the fight lives on today.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Black history is American history. We celebrate Juneteenth as a truth-telling reminder of our nation's history – its WHOLE history. We don’t fold to revisionist histories. We know where we’re going because we know where we’ve been, family. And where we are going is bright.

We celebrate our Black culture, family, melanin, resilience, brilliance, and our joy. For every loved one who packed a brown bag lunch, sang a freedom song, vaselined an elbow, risked their lives, and dared to be themselves.

Our ancestors, in giving their lives for this cause, gave us a mandate: to do the work of Black liberation and build a better world. A world where birthing while Black is an experience met with support and celebration. A world where higher education opens doors, free of debt. A world where we keep each other safe and Black men grow old. And a world where Black greatness is older than our oppression.

No one is free until we’re all free. And until that time comes, our work continues.

In solidarity,

Ayanna