Delayed Emancipation – Jim Crow – Juneteenth = National Holiday
Selena Quinn, from left, LaVon Fisher-Wilson and Traci
Coleman perform during a free outdoor event organized
by The Broadway League as Juneteenth’s celebrations take
place at Times Square Saturday, June 19, 2021, in New York.
Asociated Press/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez
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Caribbean Life, JUNE 25-JULY 1, 2021 11
“The arc of the moral universe
is long but it bends
towards justice.”
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Blacks in America have
always been cognizant of the
arc of the moral universe Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. referenced
when he amplified his
“We Shall Overcome” message
in 1968 by borrowing the
poignant phrase.
More than any other race the
most disfranchised in the USA
fully understand that throughout
400 years of suppression
arcs had to be pried and forced
to the limit in order to bend
anywhere near justice.
Two days before the anniversary
of June 19, Juneteenth was
proclaimed a national holiday.
Governor Andrew Cuomo
took the initiative to announce
that in honor of the federal
achievement 11 landmarks
throughout New York state
would mark the historic decision
by lighting buildings in the
colors of red, black, and green.
Last year amid Black Lives
Matter protests and the reckoning
following the murder of
George Floyd, the state leader
issued a proclamation naming
Juneteenth a significant date of
acknowledgement.
He repeated the bold precedence
in 2021.
“New York is proud to join
the entire country in our first
national commemoration of
the emancipation of enslaved
African Americans,” Cuomo
said.
He continued to emphasize
his message saying: “While
Juneteenth may be our newest
federal holiday, the ethos we
observe today — that independence,
equality, and liberty for
all are only guaranteed when
we march as one towards those
ideals; that the arc of the moral
universe only bends towards
justice when we work together
to bend it — has always been
the foundation of our national
identity.”
“I was proud to make this a
state holiday last year because
New York has always, and will
always, stand with and support
all those working to help our
country live up to its founding
ideals. Our thoughts are
with all those who worked so
hard and for so long to bring
today’s national celebration to
fruition.”
June 19 AKA Freedom Day,
Emancipation Day or Jubilee
Day is officially the 12th federal
holiday.
The newest day of honor resonated
with jubilation for more
than a few.
Opal Lee, a 94-years-old
Texan, said from her childhood
years she always marked the
date with nostalgia and reverence.
She was able to bear witness
that her dream of seeing
other states recognize the significance
of the history that
occurred in her home state a
century and a half ago.
Lee was present when President
Joe Biden signed the bill
to advance the status of the
Emancipation Proclamation to
become a national holiday.
During the ceremony, the
commander-in-chief opined
on Lee’s intrepid journey as a
12-year-old girl who witnessed
the destruction of her home
alongside her family during a
Juneteenth celebration in 1939
to now being hailed the “Grandmother
of Juneteenth.”
The traumatic event
remained foremost in her memory
when as a child she watched
white racists burn her home to
the ground.
Much has been said of
Lee’s annual walks from Fort
Worth, Texas to Washington
D.C. to convince legislators that
Juneteenth should become the
12th national holiday.
When President Barack
Obama occupied the White
House, the nicknamed matriarch
of the jubilee tried to plead
his attention.
Reportedly she embarked on
that mission at age 89.
Catch You On The Inside!
Inside Life
By Vinette K. Pryce
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