Thoughts on the Juneteenth National Holiday
Passing this legislation won't cause us to forget the important work the GOP is trying to block
The ease with which Congress passed a bill establishing Juneteenth as a national holiday should give pause to any reasonable person.
Of course, it wasn’t unanimous. Fourteen House Republicans voted against the bill. One Texas House rep, Chip Roy, voted against the measure because it’s named Juneteenth National Independence Day, saying that this name is divisive.
It goes to show you that even when the GOP is trying to use smoke and mirrors to divide the populace, they can’t be unanimous.
The Republicans would love for us to celebrate this achievement to the point of distraction. In fact, they are counting on it.
They are hoping that our joy at having the unofficial celebration of American slavery being declared a national holiday will give them an effective talking point.
It couldn’t be a weaker, more transparent bit of folderol.
I’m not against Juneteenth as a national holiday any more than I opposed MLK’s birthday being made into a holiday. But its relative importance is minimal.
What’s more important is passing a renewed Voting Rights Act, one that is impervious to being watered down.
What’s more important is instituting safeguards on every level against extrajudicial police killings of POCs.
What’s more important is teaching the truth about American history - that from its’ beginning, America has embraced and codified racism.
Taking these steps would much more meaningful than passing Juneteenth, but Republicans have no intention of supporting them.
They would rather attempt to placate us with another Black-inspired national holiday than ensure our liberties and improve our quality of life.
But neither our liberty or quality of life is important to them.
They would rather curb our ability to vote, see us killed at will, and pretend that we have always been treated as first-class citizens.
We know the truth, and no amount of Juneteenth lip service will change that.