[The murder of George Floyd fueled the largest demonstrations for
justice, liberation, and transformative policy change in American
history. We are now living through a period of backlash to that
moment. Juneteenth calls us to the work that remains.]
[[link removed]]

JUNETEENTH: RECKONING, BACKLASH, AND THE FIGHT AHEAD  
[[link removed]]


 

Kyle Strickland and Shahrzad Shams
June 17, 2022
Roosevelt Institute
[[link removed]]


*
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
*
[[link removed]]

_ The murder of George Floyd fueled the largest demonstrations for
justice, liberation, and transformative policy change in American
history. We are now living through a period of backlash to that
moment. Juneteenth calls us to the work that remains. _

"Juneteenth Statue / Former State Rep. Al Edwards" , by ניקולס
is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

 

This Sunday marks the second year that Juneteenth will be celebrated
as an official federal holiday
[[link removed]]. 

Long observed by many Black Americans, well before it was officially
recognized by the federal government, Juneteenth commemorates the end
of chattel slavery in the US after the Civil War in 1865—more than
two years after President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation
in 1863. For generations
[[link removed]],
Black communities have come together every summer for parades,
cookouts, and festivals, to celebrate Black freedom and liberation.

As Americans across the country commemorate Juneteenth this year, may
this time also serve as an opportunity to reignite the national
reckoning that began in the summer of 2020. This requires an honest
accounting of the nation’s legacy of racial subjugation and its
connection to the present moment in America—a moment that is fueled
both by centuries of racialized oppression, and by the ongoing terror
of white supremacist violence, weaponized racist backlash by certain
political leaders, and a rise in hate crimes
[[link removed]].

In June 2020, in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, the demands
of Black activists, organizers, and community leaders fueled the
largest demonstrations for justice, liberation, and transformative
policy change in American history. Public support for the Black Lives
Matter movement skyrocketed
[[link removed]].
Monuments and statues of racist American figures were removed
[[link removed]].
Demands to divest
[[link removed]] from
carceral systems and invest in Black communities informed budgetary
decisions in cities across the country. Corporations and
businesses collectively pledged more than $1 billion
[[link removed]] in
support of the Movement for Black Lives. Books, movies, and
art centered the nation’s history of anti-Black racism
[[link removed]] and
uplifted activist demands to repair and redress America’s legacy of
white supremacy.

We are now living through a period of backlash to that moment. A
renewed front in the GOP culture war: Republican-led state
legislatures passing laws banning the teaching of systemic racism
[[link removed]] in
schools. These attacks on critical race theory and the broader racial
justice movement are not simply about ignoring history. Rather, the
backlash and reactionary forces
[[link removed]] propelling
these culture wars have been much darker. Indeed, some politicians
have attempted to recast history altogether, including those who
celebrate Confederate generals as heroes
[[link removed]] while
condemning present-day Black Lives Matter protesters as terrorists
[[link removed]].

GOP politicians and right-wing media and pundits
[[link removed]] have
also pushed increasingly overt racist views into the mainstream.
Nearly one-third of American adults
[[link removed]] now
believe in some version of the great replacement theory
[[link removed]],
a racist conspiracy holding that racial minorities and immigrants are
strategically infiltrating the United States in a plot to replace
white Americans and impose their own culture and political will on the
country. This has dangerous consequences and has led to despicable
acts of violence perpetrated by white supremacists, including
the horrific racist massacre last month in Buffalo, NY
[[link removed]].

This reactionary movement against racial justice is intimately
connected to other conservative projects seeking to undermine the
prospects of an inclusive, multiracial democracy, including the
explosion of voter suppression laws
[[link removed]];
attacks on women’s rights to bodily autonomy
[[link removed]];
laws attempting to dehumanize LGBTQIA+ youth
[[link removed]];
and a far-right, reactionary Supreme Court
[[link removed]] that
continues to roll back our most cherished American rights.

We cannot allow this to become the new normal in modern-day American
life. It is imperative that the US directly address the ongoing
threats of anti-Black racism and white supremacist ideologies that
have become increasingly mainstream. 

Recognizing Juneteenth as a federal holiday is certainly an important
cultural milestone in US history. But at the federal level,
policymakers must move beyond symbolic gestures and take action. They
must guarantee robust voting rights. They must pass transformative
legislation and structural policy change focused on building economic
power for Black and brown communities. And they must combat white
supremacist violence by holding perpetrators accountable.

Grassroots communities, movement leaders, and those most impacted by
centuries of systemic racism have led, and will continue to lead, the
fight for racial justice. Their demands for a deeper reckoning with
anti-Black racism and their actions to create change help connect the
past to the present. 

Juneteenth reminds us of the monumental progress we have made over
generations, and calls all of us to the work that remains on the
journey toward freedom and liberation.

AUTHORS

_As the Deputy Director of Race and Democracy, Kyle Strickland leads
research focused on the latest policy ideas and political
movement-building on race, the economy, and democracy._

_READ MORE [[link removed]]_

_As Program Manager for the Roosevelt Institute’s Race and Democracy
team, Shahrzad Shams works to advance Roosevelt's focus on racial
justice and equity._

_READ MORE [[link removed]]_

 

* Juneteenth
[[link removed]]
* George Floyd
[[link removed]]
* Racial Justice
[[link removed]]
* racial inequality
[[link removed]]
* democracy
[[link removed]]

*
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
*
[[link removed]]

 

 

 

INTERPRET THE WORLD AND CHANGE IT

 

 

Submit via web
[[link removed]]

Submit via email
Frequently asked questions
[[link removed]]

Manage subscription
[[link removed]]

Visit xxxxxx.org
[[link removed]]

Twitter [[link removed]]

Facebook [[link removed]]

 




[link removed]

To unsubscribe, click the following link:
[link removed]