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Juneteenth 2021 – A New Federal Holiday

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Juneteenth 2021

We have a new Federal Holiday – June 19th – Juneteenth.

Today marks the 156th anniversary of the date when Union Army Major General Gordon Granger stood in Galveston, Texas, and announced to the enslaved Americans in Texas they were free.

Our current Democratic President, Joseph Biden, and Vice President, Kamala Harris, have declared this day a federal holiday.

Despite the debilitating efforts of some state legislatures to disenfranchise African Americans from voting and the need to change policing so that African Americans are no longer an endangered species in the judicial system, I am happy with this designation.

Why?

Because I have unknown African ancestors who were victims of human trafficking and these heroes should be commemorated.  It was a miracle they endured and survived the Middle Passage journey to land in the Americas.

Because I have unknown and known ancestors who were enslaved Americans that contributed to the success of the American experiment, and their “forced FREE” labor was the backbone of America’s economy.  This country is still benefitting from those efforts. 

Because this happiness is for Arkansas White (Maw), my maternal great-great-grandmother who was an enslaved American, 12 years old when emancipated, and separated from her family at that time.   We have yet to find what happened to them and their descendants.

Because this joy is for Annie White Hargrove Fears (MaDear), my grandmother who had terrible memories of celebrating Juneteenth when she was a young girl and, now, I can commemorate it in peace for her.

When I was a child, she told me the African American community would celebrate Juneteenth on the church grounds with a picnic.   However, domestic terrorists would constantly disrupt their celebration with their racist anger and destruction.  Yet, the African American community would still gather the following year.

Because this joy is for all, who went before me with their enduring strength, faith, and hope for their children even when they lived in desperate times, and I commit never to forget them.

Because this is for all who come after me, and I must endeavor to educate about their proud heritage.

I am happy and proud that OUR country has taken another step towards redemption, recognizing this critical date to African Americans.

  Now, let’s continue with securing voting rights and equality for the future generations of ALL Americans.

Juneteenth 2020 Dare to Remember

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Today marks the 155th anniversary of the date when Union Army Major General Gordon Granger stood in Galveston, Texas, and announced to the enslaved Americans in Texas they were free.

In the past, I held a disdain for the celebrations on this date because I could not understand why we would celebrate a day when our African-American ancestors were “given” something that never should have been denied them – freedom.

However, now, I know that I was misguided because I had not sought information beyond what I was taught in Texas public schools. In 2012, I discovered the truth when I visited the African American Civil War Memorial (http://www.afroamcivilwar.org) in Washington, D.C., and read specific wording in the Emancipation Proclamation.

It clearly stated that the Proclamation provided the freedom to the enslaved Americans in the seceding states once those states were conquered and had surrendered to the Union Army.

 For that reason, 200,000 African-American men, those who had escaped slavery and those who were born free, joined the Union Army despite the threat of immediate execution if taken prisoner by the Confederate Army. 

They did so to ensure that the Union Army defeated the traitorous Confederate Army to win the Civil War so their enslaved brothers and sisters would be freed.

In essence, African-American men fought courageously and won the freedom – it was not “given” to our ancestors.

Even though General Robert E. Lee surrendered on April 9, 1865, the last battle of the Civil War – Battle of Palmito Ranch – was fought in Texas on May 12 and 13, 1865. Texas was conquered, at this point, and the state was occupied by the African-American Union troops that helped defeat it. The enslaved Americans in Texas discovered their freedom one month later. The conditions of the Emancipation Proclamation had been satisfied, and freedom had been won.

It was an enlightening and proud moment for me to learn these facts, which had never been taught in school. Through my quest to always seek knowledge, I moved from disdain to pride in this date and its significance to my people, my state, and my country.  

Juneteenth is not just a holiday for African-Americans but ALL Americans. It is the date that our country decided to live up to our declaration that ALL men are created equal.

So, during this COVID-19 pandemic, I will celebrate with a good friend. We will attend together via Zoom, a virtual tour, and presentation at the National Museum of African-American History & Culture.    https://nmaahc.si.edu/blog-post/celebrating-juneteenth

I will proudly reflect on the journey and contribution of The Ancestors from 1619 to today. 

How will you celebrate Juneteenth?

Remembering Harriet Tubman

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Today is March 10th.

This is the official day to take a moment and remember the contributions of that courageous African-American woman, Harriet Tubman.

Here is her journey:

Enslaved American

Freedom Fighter

Conduction on the Underground Railroad

Abolitionist

Union Spy in the Civil War

Happy 4th of July, America!

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While we are celebrating our nation’s 241st birthday with our families in our traditional ways, let us not forget the principles that our founding fathers adopted when they grasped freedom from the tyranny of the greatest power on earth in 1776.  Now, during our present time, our democracy is being challenged from within itself.  We must hold fast to those principles and to the bravery they exhibited all those years ago.

One Woman Remembers The Million Man March on the 20th Anniversary

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MillionMan-2Twenty years ago, I was blessed with the opportunity to be in Washington, D.C. during the time of the Million Man March. My being in that place at that time was not intentional as it was for a business trip and not for the March. At that time, I thought it was a coincidence but now I believe it was a part of my life’s journey to be there in that moment because it became a validating experience to a future aspect for my life.

In the days immediately following the 1995 Million Man March, on Oct. 21, 1995, I shared my experience and feelings on the computer bulletin board named Prodigy in the Black Experience topic section. Prodigy was a precursor to the Internet and all of the social media platforms we enjoy today. The message subject was “To My Brothers” and the topic was the “Million Man March.” I realize now that the post I wrote on Prodigy was actually my first blog post. Even though that post was limited to only the Prodigy users, I received many positive responses from men who had attended the march telling me how moved they were by my words and their intent to share the message to other men in their communities.

In the time since the first Million Man March, an entire generation of young brothers have reached adulthood and another generation has been born. I want to share again my thoughts and feelings of witnessing one of those incredible moments of the African-American experience.

Here is the original post from 10/21/1995

TO MY BROTHERS OF THE MILLION MAN MARCH
I’m from Houston and due to my work I was in the DC area Oct. 14 -20, 1995. This business trip was planned in January, 1995, long before I knew the date of the Million Man March. So, when I heard about the March and the date, I was ecstatic. I promised my sister and girlfriends that I would give them a first-hand account of the atmosphere in DC. We were mindful that it was your day and did not have a problem with that doctrine. It was time for you to bond and unite…..to open your hearts and really share with one another. We, sisters, have always had each other. Since from the times when the slave masters sold our children, there has been sisterhood. Now, it was time for a rejuvenation of your brotherhood.
I decided to talk to every brother I encountered from the plane ride to the evening before the March. I met my brothers from Boston, San Diego, San Francisco, LA, Dallas, Houston, Chicago, Gary, Harlem, Brooklyn, Paris, London, Tennessee, Detroit, Florida, New Orleans, Delaware, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Seattle. I met you on the plane, on the Metro (subway), in hotel lobbies, restaurants, at the rally, and on the Mall the day before the March. I told you my name and asked yours. I asked you one question, “Why did you come to the March?”
Every one of you opened your hearts to me. Your answer was atonement, unity and brotherhood. You told me it was bigger than the controversy surrounding Minister Farrahkan and other leaders. You told me it was about God, you, and unity. You told me you wanted to make history and show the world the “realness” of the African-American man. You even said to me, “For you my sister. I’m here for you to ask your forgiveness for my treatment of you.” You extended an invitation for my participation in the March and begged me not to feel excluded. I assured you it was okay but declined because I felt it was your day. These were the things I heard from you, my brothers, not the media and I thank God for that experience.
So, I sat on the Mall the day before the March and watched you, eavesdropping on your conversations, chuckling at your excitement and animation………..I felt much joy. There was love, peace, harmony, enthusiasm, understanding, and truth amongst you. You were beautiful, beautiful, my brothers. There were other unknown sisters watching and we joined together in our smiles as we watched. We whispered about your majesty……….how there is no other man on the planet like you. You were a wonderful garden of powerful, warm, brown-hued flowers. We saw you as you saw yourselves – with renewed vision – and we said how we loved you. Sister to Brother. One brother in a group nearby turned and saw us. He rushed over to apologize for an unsavory word spoken. We had not heard it but the brother was concerned about offending us. This is the respect you must nurture always for your sisters, my brothers.
There were perhaps 100,000 of you on the Mall that day. My thoughts compared you to thousands of beautiful lamps………beautiful lamps that had been covered with the dark dust of your experiences with racism in America. But, now, through your communion, you were wiping off that dust from your brother. Each one of you did it for another so that your light grew brighter and brighter. I thought of my brothers still enroute to DC from the four corners of our country. I knew upon their arrival you would wipe away their dust, too. I knew your lights would stun the world on Oct. 16, 1995 and through God’s blessing it did. One million plus lights, united, cannot be ignored.
Thank you, my brothers. Thank you for obeying God’s call. Keep close to your heart that obedience is greater than sacrifice. Keep close to your heart that only God can change the hearts and minds of men and women. Your hearts are free, now. I am proud of you. Remember your pledges, honor your sisters, honor your families, and God will heal our communities.