Why Juneteenth is important to all Americans

Most holidays are special only to those who celebrate them. Gentiles do not make Rosh Hashanah a time of introspection and prayer in the way Jews do. Nor do we fast on Yom Kippur as do my Jewish friends. Muslims fast during Ramadan; Hindus celebrate Diwali; Buddhists remember the birth, enlightenment, and death of Gautama Buddha on Vesak, and so on.

Those of us who are not African American might be tempted to feel the same way about Juneteenth: since we are not Black, the day is not as important for us as it is for those who are.

But this is a mistake, one of vital significance for all Americans.

The day 250,000 slaves were freed

On June 19, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger and his Federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, where he issued General Order No. 3:

The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that of employer and hired labor.

This order enforced the Emancipation Proclamation of President Abraham Lincoln issued on January 1, 1863, which declared “that all persons held as slaves” within the Confederacy “are, and henceforth shall be free.” However, tens of thousands of slaves remained in bondage even as many Confederate armies surrendered in the spring of 1865.

When the Union army forced the surrender of Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith at Galveston on June 2, 1865, the Civil War was effectively ended. On June 19, two hundred and fifty thousand enslaved people were finally freed.

However, General Order No. 3 stipulated that former slaves remain in their present homes. It also barred them from joining the military and made no provision for them beyond their current employment. The official end of slavery in the US did not come until the ratification of the 13^th Amendment on December 6 that year.

Over the years, June 19 (“Juneteenth”) has been recognized as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Cel-Liberation Day, Second Independence Day, and Emancipation Day. Celebrations on the day often include public readings of the Emancipation Proclamation. Traditional songs are sung, and works by noted African American authors are read. Rodeos, street fairs, cookouts, family reunions, park parties, and historic reenactments are often held as well.

Three biblical assertions

At this point, if you’re not an African American, you might be asking why I believe this holiday is relevant to you. You are neither a former slave nor a former slave holder. And yet, I believe Juneteenth is a day and occasion all Americans should mark with reflection, gratitude, and renewed commitment to the purpose it embraces.

This is not because I am a critical theorist. I do not agree that society should be understood in Marxist terms as a collection of social units constituting the oppressed and the oppressors. In this view, because many white people once oppressed African Americans, using their forced labor and servitude to advance themselves, white people should now be oppressed and forced to pay reparations to enact social “justice.”

Such a worldview embraces, enforces, and advances racism. It views all people through the singular prism of race and perpetuates the stereotype that African Americans cannot advance themselves without intervention by society.

My view of Juneteenth is different. Centered in the biblical worldview, I would advance three assertions.

1. Racism in all its forms is sin, since God made each of us in his image (Genesis 1:27). As St. Augustine noted, our Creator loves each of us as if there were only one of us. He calls and commands us to do the same today (Matthew 22:39).
2. Systemic racism, where it still exists today, is also sinful. Every step should be taken to eliminate structural racism in hiring, housing, education, and other strata of society. God’s command is clear: “Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause” (Isaiah 1:17).
3. Racism poisons all who practice it. Embracing the sanctity of all people is therefore vital to the health and future of all parts of society (Galatians 3:28).

My third assertion is so important that I will close by expanding on it.

“Unarmed truth and unconditional love”

Mother Teresa said regarding abortion, “We must not be surprised when we hear of murders, of killings, of wars, of hatred. If a mother can kill her own child, what is left but for us to kill each other?” In her view, a society that does not embrace the sanctity of preborn children will extend its same depreciation of humans to the rest of society.

The same is true with regard to racism. Those who devalue their fellow humans because of their skin color and ethnicity will do the same on other levels as well. In racist cultures, women, children, and non-white minorities are often treated as second-class. Those who perpetrate such sin cannot be right with the God who loves us all. As a result, they forfeit his best for themselves and their society.

Alveda King, the niece of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, was right:

Racism springs from the lie that certain human beings are less than fully human. It’s a self-centered falsehood that corrupts our minds into believing we are right to treat others as we would not want to be treated.

Her uncle proclaimed:

I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality. . . . I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.

Let us embrace such truth and love today, to the advancement of all Americans and to the glory of God.