‘Healing the Wounds of Slavery’

 

Juneteenth has only been a federal holiday since 2021.  That recognition has caused some of our black brothers and sisters to try to include more races in their celebrations of it:

‘Historically, Black churches and segregated parks served as meeting places for Juneteenth festivities, which included soul food, dances, clothing, and praise and worship. While it was not universally recognized by Black Americans, Juneteenth events were largely held in Black spaces and reflective of Black cultures.

‘But with the adoption of the federal holiday, interest in celebrating Juneteenth has expanded and diversified. Many longtime observers of the holiday have encouraged that development. For them, Juneteenth is a recognition of American history that should be open to all people. 

‘“We’ve always tried to make it an inclusive event and try to bring awareness to those people who are not people of color,” Jackman said. “We’ve said it wasn’t just all Black people, but there were white folks that were an important part of our history”’ (Aallyah Wright, ‘Despite Corporate Pullback, Black Americans Keep Juneteenth Traditions Alive,’ capitalbnews.org).

For others, however, these days and months of Afro-centric celebrations are simply another way to keep alive the animosities between the descendants of Africans and Europeans in the United States.  For example (written during the opening days of Black History Month 2022):

‘Today, far too many people argue that America’s original sin of trafficking and enslaving human beings does not matter, that all this is in the past and we have an even playing field now. They argue that as a nation we have “done enough.” They say it is time to end programs aimed at redress and stop talking about racism once and for all.

‘I would ask those people to at least recognize the reality of America’s long history of slavery and how its effects came to be a part of the American fabric. I would ask them to stop denying the continuing effects of slavery and its detrimental impact on generations of Americans.

‘It is difficult for me to comprehend how anyone cannot see the vestiges of slavery and Jim Crow in the ongoing inequity in education in the United States. Most students who attend public schools (which is what the vast majority of U.S. students do), go to the school in their neighborhood. In cases where—because of discriminatory housing policies and practices—Black families with lower incomes are concentrated in neighborhoods, the schools in those neighborhoods tend to be underfunded and underperforming. Worse yet, in some areas, individual schools are punished with lower funding when they fail to perform so that failing schools only get worse with no opportunity to improve and better serve students’ (Raymond Pierce, ‘What Is Gained By Denying America’s Original Sin?,’ forbes.com).

Gerrymandered majority-minority congressional districts in States like Alabama, Louisiana, and South Carolina, which have made headlines in recent years, also tend to generate racial tension and division rather than reconciliation.

Will we ever be able to get beyond the legacy of slavery in the US?

It seems doubtful at times, yet it is possible if we choose our future path wisely.

When it comes to slavery in the States, there are generally two groups whose views are not very compatible.  One group says that it was a horror akin to the Soviet gulag or the Nazi concentration camps.  The other argues that it was simply an accepted institution in the world at that time; therefore, little consternation should arise over it.  Quite obviously, a dialogue between these groups isn’t going to be very fruitful.

If there is going to be reconciliation in the States over slavery, something that transcends these two positions will be necessary.  And it does exist.  For those who are genuinely interested in finding it, it is here, in the lives of two saints, a master and his slave, who were martyred together during the Roman persecution of the Church, celebrated by Orthodox Christians on 22 June:

 . . .

The rest is at https://thehayride.com/2025/07/garlington-healing-the-wounds-of-slavery/.

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Holy Ælfred the Great, King of England, South Patron, pray for us sinners at the Souð, unworthy though we are!

Anathema to the Union!