It was in 2021 that Juneteenth was finally declared a federal holiday by President Joe Biden. In case you don’t know, Juneteenth is a day holiday that recognizes June 19, 1865 - the day when slaves on Galveston
Island, Texas finally learned they’d been freed under the Emancipation Proclamation two years prior.
For countless Black men and women, hearing the words that slavery was over and freedom was theirs were words they’d been longing to hear. The joy that they felt in that moment echoes across time in our celebrations today.
However, isn’t it wild that it took 2 whole years before Black slaves knew they were free? In 2022, some might say that it still feels as if this country is still neither equal nor free. We are halfway through the year and the attacks on Black men and Black families are very prevalent. So, it’s time to stop playing games. It’s time to end the crisis affecting Black men. It’s time to live up to that 157-year-old proclamation of absolute equality.
Freedom comes with expectations. Expectations that we would be treated equally and not as second-class citizens. That we would be able to marry and love those of our choosing, those who would also choose us, and that we would be able to work and live as free people. Some said that we expected too much, too soon. So many died fighting to have their expectations met. You’re supposed to have expectations—of yourself, of others, of this world. We can change America, and I can’t think of a better Juneteenth tribute or Father’s Day gift than doing so.
A Poem by Harry Seymour from the Vineyard Gazette
Juneteenth and Father’s Day
Third week of June
A double celebration
Of fathers we know
And those liberated
Over a hundred years ago
On Juneteenth
Marking the end of slavery
When men were encouraged
To breed
And not be fathers
In the paternal sense
Of nurturing a child
A form of fatherhood
Not to be celebrated
But remembered
On Juneteenth
As inspirational for all
Denied reciprocal love
Between father and child
And aspirational in forging
That universal bond
Hence Juneteenth’s legacy
Coinciding with Father’s Day
Is not simply coincidental
But consequential
When honoring fathers
Past, present and absent.