June 19th is Juneteenth! Today marks a sacred day in our history. Juneteenth is the commemoration of the official end of slavery in the United States. It specifically recognizes the day the last community of enslaved people learned they were free. The announcement came on June 19, 1865, in Galveston, Texas informing the enslaved population of the end of the war and their freedom. This comes two years and five months after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863.
We know that Abraham Lincoln's goal was to keep the union together, whether that meant sustaining slavery or abolishing it. We know that many including revisionist historians still make light of chattel slavery and its impact, and many vehemently oppose reparations of any sort. We are well aware that Black and other oppressed people still don’t have full access to human rights in this imperialist state. As abolitionists and socially conscious Black people we are not content, nor do we see this new national holiday as restorative or transformational.
We do, however, love our community and chose to also rejoice and reflect on our ancestors and their humanity and will for survival. We also remember and celebrate the lives of those ancestors who got us to this point, be they popular or lesser-known individuals. These heroes were resilient, they were creative and they live on within us. We choose to continue to pursue Black Liberation as our ancestors aspired and that we have always deserved.
-BLM Boston
