Is America Trying to Water Down Juneteenth?
Because it kind of feels that way.
June 19th is not even the original day slaves were freed. But maybe because the actual date January 1, 1862 would mean the New Year would shoo in a celebration for black people in this country and they are not trying to go THAT far.
But why make it a national holiday now? Here are my two reasons.
- Maybe change is really coming to America for black people.
I’ve read some really enlightening and forward thinking articles here on Medium from some people so I won’t re-iterate why justice for black people in this country is due. But one of the millions of reasons why this theory is on the fence is because of how America is trying to remove Critical Race Theory from the classrooms. Critical Race Theory expounds on the idea that racism is a construct that stems from the legal system and policies put in place to legally discriminate against a group of people. Redlining, where lines were drawn throughout cities to identify impoverished neighborhoods and subsequently refusing to service the people of those neighborhoods in regards to social equality, adequate housing and protection among other basic needs, is an example of what Critical Race Theory would explore.
And then there are the “leaders” of this country who are in direct opposition. Senator Ted Cruz called Critical Race Theory “as racist as Klansmen in white sheets”. Spoken like true white privilege. Of course something that seemingly threatens the…
