John,

This Saturday marks my four year anniversary with DFA, and I’m as moved by the work we have to do as the work we've already done.

As Black descendants of enslaved folk, we come to work in White-dominated spaces with a certain amount of caution, trepidation and unsettling expectations.

This too was my experience when I arrived here, at DFA, and not long after my start date I would be forced to confront one of those unsettling expectations.

When I learned we got July 4th off as a holiday, I uncomfortably asked if the organization also closed for Juneteenth. Not only was the answer no, but almost no one on staff had even heard of this critically important day in celebration of Black liberation.

DFA did not close for Juneteenth that year, but that was the last year we didn’t recognize Juneteenth as a holiday. The education of our staff about the important date became another lesson in our equity-focused meetings and book club. For the past three years, I’m proud to say that DFA has celebrated Juneteenth and it's rewarding that other organizations, nonprofits and even corporations are starting to do the same.

But it's not enough. It is beyond time for America to recognize Juneteenth as a national holiday: Sign our petition calling on Congress to make Juneteenth a national holiday >>

Juneteenth is a holiday that marks the true end of human slavery in this country. While many believe that slavery ended in 1863, when Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, for too many Black people that were enslaved, this was not the case.

Plantation owners, slavers in Galveston, TX didn’t free those that were enslaved until June 19th 1865, more than two years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation.

The fact is, a national holiday recognizing Juneteenth is not only past due as a way to honor the sacrifice and celebrate the liberation of Black Americans, it would also be an important acknowledgement -- at the highest levels of this country -- that the long suffering of slavery went well beyond the end of the Civil War.

Add your name to our petition calling on Congress to make Juneteenth a national holiday now >>

The fight against white supremacy and structural racism built into American institutions must not focus only on police accountability and reforming criminal justice.

By making Juneteenth a federal holiday, America has the opportunity to recognize, honor and celebrate the freedom of Black Americans without white washing the history it took to get there.

Never again would a Black person show up to any job and hear about offices closed on the 4th of July for independence, but not Juneteenth for Black independence.

Thank you for standing together in fighting for racial justice and structural change.

— Mondale

Mondale Robinson
Political Director, DFA
Founder, Black Male Voter Project