Juneteenth 2022: Why the day should matter to all Americans
It was 2020.
Demonstrators took to the streets nationwide declaring Black lives mattered in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes. It was then Mica Brown decided to use Juneteenth – the longstanding celebration of Black freedom and emancipation – to create a vibrant space for healing.
“It was in the middle of the pandemic and it was the height of the protests and I was watching how African Americans were being portrayed in the media,” the Central Florida social worker said.
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“I had just participated in Cocoa’s protest and decided to hold a family barbecue for the community. I was going to hold it in my backyard, maybe play spades, but no,” she said, deciding to move the grassroots gathering to Melbourne’s Riverside Park instead.
What started as a first-year Juneteenth get-together with 150 people grew to more than 300 last year. This year, Brown and others are expecting even larger crowds as Juneteenth deepens its roots in American culture.
Juneteenth was already one of the longest continuous Black celebrations in the U.S. Daytona Beach, for example, had one of the most well-known Juneteenth events even before President Biden made it a federal holiday last year. But in the wake of the 2020 protests, its importance grew.
The June 19 holiday was eagerly adopted by a corporate world wanting to offer its support for inclusion in the aftermath of the Floyd case. It’s also expanding into the cultural lexicon with songs, T-shirts and an infamous take on ice cream, and even an upcoming Hollywood movie.
“It’s very exciting to see more and more people learn about the holiday. This is really one of the more positive developments that have taken place over the last few years,” said Kelly Elaine Navies, a historian at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture based in Washington, D.C.
For many, like Cynthia Slater, president of the Daytona Beach branch of the NAACP, Juneteenth offers an important reminder that if someone isn’t free, no one is free. For Debra Riley of Okaloosa County, it’s a chance to take pride in America’s diversity.
“This is American history and has all the elements baked into it,” Navies said. “You shouldn’t leave an event without knowing what it all means.”
But the summertime observance – the first federal holiday established since President Ronald Reagan signed Martin Luther King Jr. Day into existence in 1983 – is not without detractors, especially in Florida, where some Black historians want the Sunshine State focused on the state’s Emancipation Day in May instead.
What is Juneteenth?
A Gallup Poll taken in 2021 showed about 37 percent of U.S. adults know something about Juneteenth. Juneteenth marks the day when federal troops turned up in Galveston, Texas, in 1865 to tell the enslaved people that they had been freed, months after the Civil War ended.
The news of freedom granted through President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, signed Jan. 1, 1863, threw the formerly enslaved communities into jubilation. There was dancing, food, and even worship, historians say.
The name Juneteenth – a compression of “June” and “19th” – is one of many for the June 19 holiday. Others include “Freedom Day” and “Emancipation Day.” In addition to the federal holiday, 46 states have declared a holiday or observance of the day.
Across Florida and the nation, parades, barbecues, backyard gatherings and concerts are planned.
In Southwest Florida, longtime Lee County NAACP President James Muwakkil noted that Juneteenth’s resurgence in popularity is important because “we have a long way to go.”
“We got freedom, but we don’t have full justice and full equality yet. Hate continues to run rampant in people’s homes,” Muwakkil said, speaking after last month’s mass shooting at a Buffalo, New York, grocery store that targeted Black people.
“Some people feel that Blacks are trying to supplant them, which is fueled by hate. ... We need to celebrate Juneteenth (because) we are all in this together regardless of where you live, regardless of where your ZIP code may be. At the end of the day we are all in this together. Doctor King said what affects one of us directly affects all of us indirectly.”
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An American history
To some organizers, the family reunion-style events should offer a good dose of Black culture, with revelers enjoying foods such as red velvet cake and red beans and rice while music such as “Before I Let Go” – the 1981 R&B anthem by Maze more recently covered by Beyonce – pumps in the background.
There is often also time to reflect and meditate on Black history with speeches. In Brevard, organizers incorporate book giveaways for children.
Clifford Robinson, who founded the webpage Juneteenth.com, says the overarching point is to celebrate freedom and educate participants about the impact of slavery and systemic racism. Along with that are servings of potato salad and hot dogs.
“After the slaves were emancipated one of the first things they did was to make an effort to reconnect with their family,” said Alicia Waters, the client experience manager for the Watson Firm law practice in Pensacola. Waters is organizing a Juneteenth event that she hopes will be a culmination of African American culture.
“It is such an exciting time and I do believe that it’s going to be an amazing experience for families. In addition to being entertained, I think it’s a good educational opportunity as well because Juneteenth is history. And this event is just not open to people of color, it’s for everybody.”
In Polk City, Wanda Lisbon Gaines hosted the first Juneteenth in 2020. She said she was moved by God to organize a celebration.
The 40-year-old said she started small by holding a brunch with spoken word artists, inviting acquaintances. In the second year, Gaines was able to involve the city.
“Last year I felt compelled by God to do it on a bigger scale because no one had events going on,” said Gaines. “Really, I didn’t know everyone had the same vision at the same time. I went forward with my Juneteenth knowing nothing in Polk City has ever been done for Blacks.”
When is Emancipation Day? Opinions differ
But like all things American, there are differing opinions and traditions surrounding the holiday and its implementation. In Florida, for example, several Black residents, along with the Tallahassee branch of the NAACP, continue to point to the state’s celebration of Emancipation Day that comes one month before Juneteenth.
Retired Tallahassee educator Althemese Barnes believes Florida made a “historical travesty” by officially listing June 19 as the day slaves were emancipated in Florida. The actual date of Emancipation in Florida is May 20. Last year, after President Joe Biden made Juneteenth a federal holiday, some Republicans also chimed in to support the Florida date.
When legislators tried to make Juneteenth a paid holiday for state employees, Barnes rounded up historians and some NAACP members to fight the measure.
“Juneteenth has a flashy sound. It has a buzz to it,” said Barnes, who also founded the John G. Riley House and Museum in Tallahassee. “But you don’t need to put inaccurate history in your Florida statutes.”
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To date, Florida has not made Juneteenth a formal holiday. Gov. Ron DeSantis has issued proclamations recognizing the May 20th date.
“It is really weird how schizophrenic this is,” said Bob Holladay, who teaches history at Tallahassee Community College and is president of the Tallahassee Historic Society.
“It’s not even a national event ... it’s a Texas holiday,” Holladay said. “Texas is really good at selling itself, and they’ve sold this,” Holladay said.
Robinson, of Juneteenth.com, has a different take.
“I don’t believe it’s right or wrong. Juneteenth just happened to reach different parts of the country,” Robinson said. “The bottom line is to get people to embrace history, whether it’s May 20th in Florida or on Juneteenth.”
Navies notes that the holiday was consistently celebrated in Texas and Oklahoma before spreading to the North with the Great Migration. The 1968 Poor People’s Campaign in Washington – which came nearly three months after King, one of the planners, was assassinated in Memphis – also made Juneteenth a centerpiece of the event, otherwise marred by heavy rains and heat.
“(Juneteenth) really reflects an ongoing question about what it means to be an American,” Navies said.
It joins Kwanzaa – a nearly 60-year-old year-end winter festival crafted to highlight global Black cultural values – and the Jan. 1 Emancipation services as days embedded on the African American calendar.
An infusion of pride when Juneteenth recognized
Riley, who is a career social worker serving presently as the executive director of Okaloosa County Head Start, grew up in Texas in a community where cultural diversity was celebrated.
Federal recognition of Juneteenth was “one of the proudest moments I’ve had,” she said.
“It means a lot to the African American culture, particularly in the trying times we are facing at this moment,” she said. “It is good to see some inclusion considering our past and current social issues.”
Riley said her parents infused in her and her siblings pride in their culture. “We grew up respecting other cultures and knowing our own culture,” she said.
She said she will spend the Juneteenth holiday in Atlanta in a family setting. The one-time candidate for Fort Walton Beach City Council said she would love to see her local community come together to celebrate Juneteenth in a meaningful way.
“We can get there,” she said. “If we don’t have tunnel vision we can learn from each other, take pride that we are such a diverse nation, and grow to better respect each other.”
Tony Bostick, organizer of the annual Juneteenth Festival in Panama City and treasurer of the Minority PC organization, believes the federal recognition is a sign of growing respect.
“Making this a federal holiday was one of the greater decisions in recent times and we’re finally gaining some of the respect and things that everyone takes for granted because it’s been given to them over the years,” he said.
“It’s an outstanding remembrance for the older generation that thought everyone had forgotten and it’s even more important to highlight for the younger generation that doesn’t know the history behind Juneteenth. I think this is a great way to help bring our country closer together and have people realize that we are a melting pot of people in experiences, so just to recognize that is outstanding.”
Cautious about commercialization
Corporate America, in the wake of the protests and demands for more progress in inclusion and diversity, eagerly embraced Juneteenth. Companies like Apple, Google, Uber and this newspaper’s parent company, Gannett, added it to the holiday list.
Some celebrants are cautious about Juneteenth becoming overly commercialized, moving beyond T-shirts or sloganeering to become something that many believe could betray the organic nature of the holiday.
“I also believe we have to be careful not to allow it to be taken over and not really recognized in a manner that represents us or benefits us as a people,” Gaines of Polk County said.
Some of those fears grew with reports of Walmart selling Juneteenth-themed ice cream under its brand Great Value. To be sure, there are Juneteenth plates and napkins, some displaying a raised fist or the red, black, and green colors of African liberation. But for some, the ice cream was a bit much. A backlash ensued and the retail giant apologized.
“To me, the episode showed a lack of diversity in their management. There was already a brand of ice cream with a similar flavor. This was a time they could have reached out instead of co-opting these ideas, maybe helping sell those brands. That’s what Juneteenth is about, upliftment,” said Robinson, who often talks about diversity with companies.
Inner visions
For many, the power of Juneteenth is that celebrations often sprung up thanks to the desires of people rather than something organized by municipalities or even churches.
In Melbourne, Brown put the idea out to friends for the city’s first celebration. Some donated chicken and others brought potato salad. There was music and a sense of purpose and community.
In places like Daytona Beach – where Black people were relegated to segregated beaches in the era before the civil rights movement – the celebration’s theme of jubilance and overcoming has resonated for even longer.
“As children, we didn’t have any idea of what her story meant, but we would hear (my mother) tell the story of Juneteenth every year around this time. This celebration wasn’t something that we found in history books; it was something that my mother, like other African American parents in this country, would tell their children about how they grew up during segregation and the Jim Crow era,” said Slater of the Daytona Beach branch of the NAACP.
“Today, Juneteenth is now receiving the recognition that it so long deserved. We celebrate Juneteenth as a people because if one of us is not free, none of us are free. I thank my mom for telling the story of Juneteenth when I was a child at 10 years old,” Slater said.
Brown says the holiday’s message of endurance and community must remain at the forefront of any celebration. “Everyone rides the wave, and right now Juneteenth is the wave. But you can’t slap it on a paper plate or over-commercialize it. There is the history behind what we do,” Brown said.
“This is a day of freedom for us.”
Ebonee Burrell, Panama City News-Herald; Eileen Zaffiro-Kean, Daytona Beach News-Journal; Kamal Morgan, Pensacola NewsJournal; Kate Cimini, The News-Press, Naples Daily News and Breanna A. Rittman, The Ledger, contributed to this report.
J.D. Gallop is a Criminal Justice/Breaking News Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Gallop at 321-917-4641 or jgallop@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @JDGallop.
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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: What is Juneteenth in Florida? Time for learning, healing, celebration
