More than any other holiday, Juneteenth must be a day of service and remembrance

The barricades have been removed, through traffic is back and protesters are largely gone from 38th and Chicago, the intersection where George Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer on May 25, 2020.

The dismantling of what came to be known as George Floyd Square is emblematic of so many attempts at furthering racial justice in this country. Our desire for a positive outcome in the aftermath of a tragedy is so strong that we get off the exit ramp before the work is done.

And while the racial reckoning sparked by Floyd's death is far from complete, it forced progress on race in ways that we've rarely, if ever, seen. Nearly a year after Floyd's death, the white police officer who killed him was found guilty of murder. And this time last year, Congress and President Joe Biden enacted legislation that marked the emancipation of slaves as a federal holiday – Juneteenth.

Two years after George Floyd’s murder

As often seems to be the case in America, after great tragedy for Black people comes a long-fought stride – signaling why this holiday (more than any other) has to be about more than sales and barbecues and parades. It must be a day of remembrance.

It’s a cliché, but it does take a village to effect change, and we – the Black, white, brown and Asian Americans who took to the streets after Floyd's death – are the village. We all have to make a commitment to create enduring racial justice in tangible ways and not lose the momentum that we had two years ago immediately after Floyd’s murder.

The same fire that came from the visceral reaction to the brutal killing of an unarmed Black man should inspire us, as we commemorate Juneteenth, to look at every instance where we might make racial, social and criminal justice change, and to take that responsibility together as a nation.

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Not only do we have to act as individuals, but we have to ensure that business leaders and police and government officials act, too.

'Tough on crime' isn't the answer

All across the country, including in Minnesota, state legislatures are tackling bills designed to get "tough on crime.” But when it comes to making us safer, this isn’t the time to dust off the old playbook about the need for more police, or to pander to people’s fears about crime.

Reducing crime is not solely an issue of adding law enforcement. Poor communities of color are already over-policed and under-protected.

We need to understand that crime is a visible manifestation of deeply rooted problems. We live in a country where too many people are food insecure, housing insecure and lack access to health care. These are the issues that help perpetuate lawlessness. Taking steps to address the inequities will make society safer for everyone.

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This is a moment for politicians to reimagine and recalibrate, not reuse and recycle. Elected officials should think broadly about how to best serve the needs of communities that are experiencing trauma. We need to determine how to redirect resources and redirect our energies to address some of those traumas.

It’s not only a state and local issue.

Just as Congress finally acted on Juneteenth, our legislators must also pass laws that force police departments nationwide to be more equitable and increase accountability for misconduct through the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.

How corporations can respect Juneteenth and justice

When it comes to business, corporate leaders should position themselves not simply as brands expressing concern about racial justice, but as community members who are willing to take meaningful stands. They have to forge partnerships with the key players in their communities who are working for change.

A good recent example is the action by The Walt Disney Co., whose CEO Bob Chapek took a public stand against a Florida law that limits what teachers can say about sexual orientation and gender identity – which critics refer to as the “don’t say gay” law. Chapek, who reached out to Florida's governor with concerns about the bill, reaffirming the company’s strong support for the LGBTQ community.

As individuals, we can take responsibility for our neighbors.

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For some, that can mean speaking up in support of teachers who are being attacked for trying to educate the next generation to be more accepting of all the people (including people of color) who make up our society.

It can mean becoming involved in organizations that bring together people of diverse backgrounds. I am proud to serve as board vice president of Interfaith Action of Greater Saint Paul, where volunteers from a variety of spiritual communities work to both relieve the effects of poverty and address its root causes.

Finally, whatever our position, we must understand and reckon with history.

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The triumph of Juneteenth is inextricably tied to tragedy and the need for vigilance. Black people have always emphasized this aspect of the holiday and other celebrations of “emancipatory moments.” In the push for a holiday honoring slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., there were persistent calls for King Day to be both a holiday and national day of service in remembrance of the individual and the issues and principles for which he fought, including the eradication of poverty and an end to violence.

Decades earlier, a 1923 letter in the Sacramento Bee expressed that Emancipation Day (or Juneteenth) should be treated as a holiday with the same veneration “as Christmas or Easter,” given the important birth of freedom it recalled. "It should be placed on the statute books, both state and national, as a national holiday,” the writer concluded, “for on the pathway of civilization it will forever hold the unique position of a guidepost and a beacon light so that whenever the world attempts to turn from reason and right this light will always be available to guide.”

Those words should guide us now. If we’re going to make real change in this moment we can’t fall victim to outrage, followed by unfulfilled promises and a backlash that only makes things worse.

That way of thinking inevitably leads to some other intersection like 38th and Chicago, where someone is killed and people are shocked, only to be reminded that this isn’t the first time that we’ve been here.

Yohuru Williams, founding director of the Racial Justice Initiative at the University of St. Thomas, is a distinguished university chair and professor of history based in Minneapolis-St. Paul. He received his Ph.D. from Howard University and is the author of "Rethinking the Black Freedom Movement." 

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: After Floyd death, Juneteenth must be a day of service and remembrance