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/.
--
Holy
Ælfred the Great, King of England, South Patron, pray for us sinners at the Souð, unworthy though we are!
Anathema
to the Union!
