Until we're all free

The Senate unanimously voting to make Juneteenth a holiday should confuse you.

@Yesaurielle reminded us that gaslighting is making Juneteenth a federal holiday while simultaneously attacking black voting rights, endorsing state sanctioned violence, dismantling the social safety net and passing laws to prevent schools from telling the truth of our racist history.

Don’t be fooled, we’ve got work to do. May Juneteenth be a call to action to never stop until we’re all free.

Kerri (she/her)

Art by @arielsole

1. Loss runs like a river through my life: Malkia Devich-Cyril on grief’s unequal racial burden, and the Internet as a vehicle to negotiate survival and turn collective grief into collective action. [click to tweet]

2. Running out of conspiracy theories to match their IQAnon, Republican politicians have discovered “critical rage theory” as the next worst thing to endanger American civilization. [click to tweet]

3. Gymnastics doesn’t know what to do with Simone Biles’s dominance. Her greatness is a form of resistance. [click to tweet]

4. The hidden form of racism that no one is talking about: how the food industry perpetuates social injustice on the most vulnerable. [click to tweet]

5. As Juneteenth becomes a federal holiday, the US needs a culture of reparations for the very real damages that states, cities, universities, churches, and companies inflicted on Black Americans. [click to tweet]

Juneteenth isn’t just a day for Black Americans, it is day for all Americans to recommit to our fight for freedom, dignity and the future that we all deserve. As Fannie Lou Hamer reminds us “nobody’s free until everybody’s free”. Here are some meaningful ways to engage:

LEARN: Where does Juneteenth come from? Know the history.

SUPPORT: Invest in Black-owned businesses (list) and organizations that support Black freedom and flourishing (list).

DEFUND: There is no emancipation as long as Black people continue to be targeted by police violence. This is a good time to raise hell around defunding the police and redistributing resources to community-led services.

REPAIR: Juneteenth is not just a celebration but a reminder of our debt for the enslavement, violence and exploitation Black people throughout history in America. Reparations is how we, non-Black people, make it right.

ATTEND: Check out these amazing Juneteenth events:

• Black Love Convergence: Check out “Ancestral Voices: Healing Black Futures” featuring Gina Breedlove, Lisa Anderson, Malkia Devich-Cyril and Karen M. Rose.

• Juneteenth Now: Get Us Free: Celebrate with Middle Church featuring a star-studded panel and teach in.

• The Black Sit: Where Liberation Meets Practice: A radical meditation featuring Rev angel Kyodo williams and friends.

Art by @zeaink

Juneteenth represents the day that last remaining enslaved people in Galveston Texas finally learned they were free. While the Emancipation Proclamation was signed on Jan 1st, 1863, news of their freedom did not reach the people until June 19th, 1865. While Black Independence Day has been around for hundreds of years, it hasn’t been recognized by the general public until recently. After last year’s racial protests, allies, companies and schools rushed to acknowledge the day with fancy social media posts, time off and celebrations. But symbolic gestures towards liberation don’t mean much when so many are suffering. After all, how do we celebrate Juneteenth when we can’t even talk about racism? There’s no small irony in the fact that in Texas this week, the state where the holiday originated, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed a law limiting how educators can talk about current events and America’s history of racism. Juneteenth isn’t just a recognition of the survival and resilience of Black people in America, it is a call to action for the rest of us to do whatever is necessary to protect Black lives and ensure that everyone has what they need to thrive. That means doing the everyday work of fighting for voting rights, defunding the police, redistributing resources to front-line communities, paying reparations and embodying joy as a revolutionary force.

We are the new ancestors in training. Act accordingly.

Art and words by @lamalayerbalove

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