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JUNETEENTH
(I thought that you would enjoy reading Ms.
Callie Lawrence’s keynote address, delivered on Saturday,
before a packed house June 19, 2004 at the Lee County African-American
Historical Society’s Juneteenth Celebration at Clemente
Park.
I was moved tremendously by Ms. Lawrence’s instructive
remarks. They serve as a constant reminder that our freedom is
an affirmation of determination and sacrifice --never to be taken
for granted.)
By Callie Lawrence
President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on September
22, 1862, notifying the states in rebellion against the Union
that if they did not cease their rebellion and return to the Union
by January 1, 1863, he would declare their slaves forever free.
Needless to say, the proclamation was ignored by those states
that seceded from the Union. Furthermore, the proclamation did
not apply to those slaveholding states that did not rebel against
the Union. As a result about 8,000,000 slaves were unaffected
by the provisions of the proclamation. It would eventually take
the Civil War to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation and the
13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to formally outlaw slavery
in the United States.
Hence, Juneteenth is celebrated annually on June 19th, in more
than 200 cities in the United States. Texas and Oklahoma are the
only states that have made Juneteenth a legal holiday. Some cities
sponsor week-long celebrations, culminating on June 19th while
other places hold shorter celebrations.
Juneteenth is celebrated as a symbol for the end of slavery.
It has come to represent, for many African–Americans, what
the Fourth of July symbolizes for all Americans – freedom.
It serves as a historical milestone reminding Americans of the
triumph of the human spirit over the cruelty of slavery. Juneteenth
honors those African–American ancestors who survived the
inhumane institution of bondage as well as the demonstration of
pride in the marvelous legacy of resistance and perseverance they
left us.
Blacks do celebrate the Fourth of July in honor of American Independence
Day, but history reminds us that Blacks were still enslaved when
the United States obtained its independence.
The slaves in Texas were the last to know that they were free.
This was because slavery in Texas experienced such a minor interruption
in its operation. Many slave owners from other slave-holding states
brought their slaves to Texas to wait out the war. News of the
emancipation was suppressed due to the overwhelming influence
of the slave owners.
When Blacks in Texas heard the news, they alternately sang, danced,
and prayed. There was much rejoicing and jubilation that their
life long prayers had finally been answered. Many of the slaves
left their masters immediately upon being freed, in search of
family members, economic opportunities or simply because they
could. Some left with nothing but the clothes on their backs and
hope in their hearts. Oh freedom! Oh freedom!
Freedom meant more than the right to travel freely. It meant
the right to name one’s self. And many free slaves gave
themselves new names. County courthouses were overcrowded as Blacks
applied for licenses to legalize their marriages. Emancipation
allowed ex-slaves the right to assemble and openly worship as
they saw fit. As a result, a number of social and community organizations
were formed, many originating from the church.
Freedom implied that for the first time, laws of the United States
protected the rights of Blacks. There was a run on educational
primers as freed men and women sought the education that had for
so long been denied them. The Bureau of refuges, Freedom and Abandoned
Lands, commonly known as the Freedom’s Bureau, was founded
by Congress in March, 1865 to provide relief services for former
slaves. Schools were established and joined churches as centers
of the newly-freed communities. The promise of emancipation gave
freed men optimism for the future. Very few realized slavery’s
bitter legacy was just beginning to unfold and that equality was
to remain an elusive dream. Oh Freedom! Oh Freedom!
The fact that it took a Civil War to forcibly put an end to slavery
left a bitter legacy that still continues to divide American society.
Slavery so bankrupted slave owners’ sense of right and wrong
that they were willing to die to defend that lifestyle. A slave-holding
minority morally corrupted a nation, and this legacy still haunts
the country today.
According to the historian John Hope Franklin, “the Founding
Fathers, by allowing slavery set the stage for every seceding
generation of Americans to apologize, compromise and temporize
on those principles of liberty that were supposed to be the very
foundation of our system of government and way of life….that
is why this nation tolerated and indeed, nurtured the cultivation
of racism that has been as insidious as it has been persuasive.
Professor Franklin asks, “How could the colonists make
such distinctions in their revolutionary philosophy?” They
either meant that all men were created equal or they did not mean
it at all. They meant that every man was entitled to life, liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness, or they did not mean it at all.
Patrick Henry, who had cried, “Give me liberty or give me
death”, admitted that slavery was “repugnant to humanity”,
but obviously not terribly repugnant, for he continued to hold
Blacks in bondage. So did George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.”
This blatant hypocrisy poisoned both religion and the law. Every
institution at the slave-holder’s disposal was used to justify
slavery. Instead of the slave-owner being considered in humane,
the people he enslaved were. The legacy of racism has grown into
perhaps the greatest internal threat that this country faces.
John Hope Franklin aptly put it when he wrote that “slavery
weakened America’s moral authority.”
It is amazing that despite living under the most inhumane conditions
known to human kind, blacks contributed to everything from agricultural
inventions, to medical breakthroughs, to music. Enslaved artisans
crafted incredible sculptures, designed beautiful buildings and
helped build a nation. Blacks preserved a culture and succeeded
in passing down a legacy of music, language, food, religion and
a lesson of survival. We’ll never know how many scientist,
engineers, doctors and artists were lost on the trip over on the
slave ship or after they arrived.
But Juneteenth gives us an opportunity to reflect, to remember
and to pay homage to all the sacrifices those before us made for
our Freedom. Juneteenth is an opportunity to demonstrate pride
in the marvelous legacy of resistance and perseverance our fore
fathers left us. Oh Freedom.
Slavery taught America another lesson, one that is too often
ignored. Blacks and Whites worked together to create an anti-slavery
movement that ultimately succeeded. Later they fought and died
together to force the end of slavery. Blacks and Whites have worked
throughout this nation’s history for social justice. This
lesson of cooperation must NEVER be forgotten. And Juneteenth
reminds us of this.
While the painful side of slavery makes it difficult for many
Blacks to celebrate Juneteenth, it is the positive legacy of perseverance
and cooperation that makes it impossible for others to ignore.
J - Juneteenth represents the joy of freedom, the chance for
a new
beginning.
U – Unless we expose the truth about the African-American
slave
experience, Americans won’t truly be free.
N – Never must we forget our ancestors’ endurance
of one of the worst
slave experiences in human history.
E – Every American has benefited from the wealth Blacks
created through
over 200 years of free labor and Juneteenth allows us to acknowledge
that debt.
T – To encourage every former slave-holding state to follow
Texas and
Oklahoma’s example and make Juneteenth a state holiday.
E – Even on the journey to discover who we are, Juneteenth
allows us to
reflect on where we have been, where we are at, and where we are
going as people.
E – Everyday in America, Blacks are reminded of the legacy
of slavery.
Juneteenth counters that by reminding us of the promise of deliverance.
N – Never give up hope is the legacy our enslaved ancestors
left. It was this
legacy that produced black heroism in the Civil War and helped
launch
the modern Civil Rights Era. It is the legacy we celebrate.
T – To proclaim for all the world to hear, that human rights
must never
again become subservient to property rights.
H – History books have only told a small part of the story;
Juneteenth gives
us a chance to set the record straight.
FREEDOM IS ALWAYS WORTH CELEBRATING!
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