The ironic thing about the holiday is that it is surrounded by falsehood. It is a celebration of the perception that Black people are free. In reality, the bondage of being oppressed has never escaped from Black people in general. The chains may not be visible but they exist. From picking cotton to not being able to sit on the front of the bus, to not being able to go to a Starbucks or a Waffle House without being harassed. Throughout physical slavery, Jim Crow laws, and Civil Rights up to the Black Lives Matter movement; Blacks have been fighting for freedom.
Instead of celebrating Juneteenth, there should be a daily celebration of the resilience of Blacks who have survived and sometimes prospered within the oppressive system instituted by America against Blacks. The celebration should center around those Blacks who were free during slavery and those slaves who fought and died for their freedom. We should applaud those people who have fought to abolish laws that worsen our conditions as a people and a community. Hell, the ability to go through a day without being pulled over by the police or worse abused, shot, or killed by one is an accomplishment worthy of praise. If we going to celebrate anything, let’s rejoice in our ability to survive daily in spite of freedom; instead of one day that did nothing to secure our freedom.