Juneteenth: A Sacred Day

What to the slave is the fourth of July
The orator at the podium did ask,
A Black man looking upon the sea of white faces
Perplexed and angry as he was about his task.
 
Today I likewise am tossed to and fro
On this day especially so
And then I ask above the noise of the crowd
What to the white person like me is June 19.
 
We know a few things of its history
At least some of us think we do
For some that great unspoken mystery
All of it known by the chosen few.
 
First it was just for Texas
And then it spread throughout the land
And it became a national holiday                        
With the pen in the president’s hand.
 
Freedom was hidden from the enslaved ones
By brutal enslavers demanding one last crop
Made by those who labored ‘neath the Texas sun
Days to weeks to months, time was soon to run out.
 
And then Granger came ashore at Galveston
With thousands of dark soldiers all there in view
To bring a message of freedom and unchained
Joy unspeakable, hope was something brand new.
 
Juneteenth, just for those born black
And July the 4^th for the pale-faced crowd
And now that it’s a holiday
Tell me, just for whom is it allowed.
 
Once I was told a profound thing
“The fourth of July is for those who look like you,
“Juneteenth is for my people, those who look like me,”
Then and there my opinion changed of the red, white, and blue.
 
I have never been held captive
Owned by a brutal master like a pig or a bale of cotton
My friends have ancestors who bore on their backs
The scars for them, wealth for all others, ill-begotten.
 
So, I think that Juneteenth is not for me
Although I want to understand as best I can
What Juneteenth means for Mr. Lee
Whose blood is on his land.
 
Why should white people appropriate a day
That honors the blood, sweat, and tears
Of freedom bought and families rejoined
Of those who picked the man’s cotton year after year.
 
So, I’ll honor my friends and their legacy
I’ll learn more about horrors of the chains
Of what people long endured both before and since
Martin and Malcom, Rosa, and others came.
 
And today I’ll think of the people owned by my people
The old man named Joe, the elderly woman named Ann
I’ll call the names of her children, Ben, Patti, and Mandi
And children named Dick, Jim, and Alford, possessed by the man.
 
And I’ll pause and say a prayer for Black farmers
Whose ancestors lie beneath the sod
Whose DNA is in the soil, Willie, Richard, Matthew
And those still here, Robert, Michael, and Dexter, by the grace of God.
 
And others, long forgotten and long owned
Their unmarked graves lie here, there, and everywhere
And then that day that freedom came
And no more auction block their song.
 
Freedom! Hallelujah! thank you Lord!
Joy! Freedom! Hallelujah!
Thank God almighty we’re free at last!
Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty we’re free at last!

The Day is Coming, June 19, 2024: How Shall we Celebrate It? Shall We Speak of it in Our Churches?

This is the Sunday before June 19, or Juneteenth. If any church is going to speak about it, it would be today. Next Sunday will see the sacred day in the rearview mirror. I periodically ask around, or occasionally I'll follow Sunday bulletings, announcements, and sermon topics to see who will speak of it on this Sunday, or any Sunday.  Probably most are speaking about or rather to father's on Father's Day. That's not a bad idea, to encourage us in our parenting and mentoring and all. 

My sense is that "progressive" churches are more likely to address Juneteenth and its meanings, and tha "conservative" churches are more likely to let it pass on by, but they will speak of Memorial Day, Veterans Day, or other bonafide holidays. Some say it's not their church policy to address political things, and so the pastor won't but the presiding elder will pray what is not said from the pulpit.

And so I am left wondering, why would a church NOT speak of one of the most profound holidays in our annual calendar? Is it because they are mainly a white church and do not want to offend anyone? Is it because it is not the gospel as defined in the church's literature? Is it because they are embarrassed to say out loud that they know little to nothing about the day? Is it because racism hides beneath the layer of congeniality and "the gospel is for all?" Is it because "politics is devisive" and "to speak of racism is likewise devisive?" Is it simply a matter of not being informed?  

For churches that are predominantly Black, I'd ask the same questions, but what would the answers be? I'd love to see a church that fully engages people, one that validates our lived experience, one that celebrates Juneteenth wholeheartedly. 

I could also ask the same thing as to why church offices remain open on Juneteenth, a federal holiday? 

Either way we go, we are sending a message to our people. 

Last year, Juneteenth was on Sunday, and the holiday the following day. An opportunity seized? An opportunity missed? 

I'm also curious about what makes some of our members feel invisible? I suppose this is one of them. Rather than church leaders assuming things about this day or acting arbitrarily about this day, how about if those leaders ask their African American members their opinions about it. I wonder if it would be kind of like the WPA interviews for formerly enslaved people years after freedom. There is some evidence that when the interviewee felt a similarity with the interviewer, the conversation was more real, but when there were perceived differences, such as a white woman interviewing elderly Black men who had been formerly enslaved, interviewees avoided more controversial topics or touched on them gently, like where masters were good or bad. 

I’m curious as to who knows about Juneteenth and who doesn’t. A recent Gallup poll shows that the knowledge about it among American citizens has gone up since 2021. That is a good thing.

Personally, I have known about Juneteenth since the days of my adolescence here in Texas. I don’t know exactly when, but I remember knowing about it for a long time. Juneteenth became a Texas holiday in 1979 and now a national holiday as of 2021 when President Biden signed it into law and it immediately became a national holiday.

If I had been asked to say a few words at my church, what would I have said. I’ve thought long and hard about it and it would read like this. Just a note that this is a slightly emended post from what I wrote last year at this time. 

“Today I am honored to say a few words on behalf of our country’s latest national holiday. It is a day unlike any other as its symbolism and meaning run deep, first, for our African American citizens and hopefully now for all citizens. I take these few moments solemnly as my words will not come close to providing the deeper meaning and texture of this beautiful day.

On January 1, 1863, Lincoln signed into law the Emancipation Proclamation. We think it was bigger than it was. Perhaps it was more symbolical, but yet it freed some 500,000 of 3.9 million enslaved Africans, most of whom were living in the Confederate states. Unless Union soldiers were there, they remained enslaved. General Lee surrendered to General Grant at Appomattox on April 9, 1865. The war was over, the enslaved were free, and some did take their freedom.

On June 19, 1865, two and a half years later, General Granger and some 6,000 troops, many of whom were Black, landed at Galveston and made the declaration that the enslaved were free, but they were encouraged to stay and work for wages. Some did and many left immediately to seek their families. The 13^th amendment was signed into law on December 6, 1865 which outlawed slavery except for prescribed circumstances.

Who of us can imagine what it was like to be enslaved to an enslaver on a large plantation or on a small plantation, with brutal means of keeping the enslaved Africans in check or less brutal ways of controlling them? Either way, who can imagine being owned as property? Who of us can imagine knowing that the Emancipation Proclamation had been signed, but the enslavers kept it quiet?  Then, who can grasp enslavement in Texas, the enslaved having been quickly moved from another southern state into Texas, and the enslavers wanting at least one more harvest season and money from their labors. Who can truly grasp these things, the power of the enslaver and the wide array of tactics of keeping people under control, means which always in sight? Perhaps many knew about the end of the war and the enslaved now going free. It would be hard to keep that quiet, even as far away as Texas.

Who can grasp the depth of the joys of freedom? Waking up a free person must have been beyond belief. Living the day as a free person versus living a day as an owned person must have gone beyond comprehension.

Then, who can grasp living under the Black Codes, share cropping, Jim Crow South, and even the separate but unequal school system and other things?

So, yes, Juneteenth set the captives free. The enslaved ones were now free from the shackles of bondage and the brutal hand of men and women enslavers. However, human nature is what it is, and some malevolent enslavers maintained their power and control.

That was a day of celebration. Juneteenth has now been celebrated from June 19, 1865 to this very day with all of its rich symbolism and meaning.

Some of us as white Americans, perhaps even some of us falling into that category of “I don’t really know much about it,” can now celebrate it. We celebrate it because people we care about are celebrating it. Some of us as Black Americans, now feel our history validated, and we'll rejoice mightily. 

Now, we may be invited to attend community or family gatherings with food and music and games and conversation. Or, maybe we won’t be. We can celebrate and honor our friends by learning about all things from Africa, to the Middle Passage, to the slave block, to enslavement on some farm, to the second Middle Passage, to having our families split and torn asunder in a dozen different directions. We can read and listen to the stories of people finding their roots or buying a farm where their ancestors were once enslaved or learning more about the plight of the Black farmer here in America. We can learn more about the Black Tax, red lining and its effects, health disparities, and much more. We can explore Black contributions to our country, the contributions that Black music has made, Black artists, Black theology and James Cone and others, and more. 

As white Americans, we now in a space and place where we can learn and by learning, we can celebrate. We can celebrate and deeply respect the celebrations of liberty and freedom for those whose ancestors knew not freedom or came to know freedom on June 19, 1865. We do not possess the day, we do not intrude into the day, but rather we honor and applaud our friends for whom this day is sacred.

As Black Americans, we have a day that is uniquely ours and it celebrates freedom from the horrors of enslavement. It validates what our people have experienced, and even lays open what still needs to change in order for real freedom to occur. We want to live in that place and space where we are indeed judged by the content of our character and not the color of our skin.

America has come a long way, and in this grand experiment called democracy, we have a long way to go in order to make things truly equal for all of God’s children. May we continue what others have started and build a beautiful USA for all of us.”

Those are my words, friends. What would you say?