Not Just Trump Gets Distracted
Juneteenth snuck by us this year, and shame on us for that. The occasion marks the date in 1865 when news of the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 made it to the far reaches of Texas to finally end slavery throughout the country. Juneteenth was first celebrated solely by African Americans in the South with church gatherings, parades, and readings of the Emancipation Proclamation. Later, the holiday spread with the Great Migration to other parts of the country, where communities began to celebrate with picnics and barbecues, music and dance. The Civil Rights Movement witnessed a significant resurgence in celebrations of Juneteenth in the 1960s.
Only in the past five years, however, with the Black Lives Matter movement and the George Floyd killing, did white people get involved. Rather than being accused of being an act of cultural appropriation, white participation has been welcomed, as was the law signed by President Joe Biden on June 17, 2021, declaring Juneteenth National Independence Day as a national holiday.
iStock by Getty Images
So, how did the day slip by us this year?
Because we got distracted.
Distracted by war in the Middle East and the fear that we will be sending young men and women to fight a war that could threaten the world order and peace on our own shores. Distracted by our president who says he likes to make decisions at the last minute, exactly what he seemed to do when he bombed the nuclear facilities in Iran the other day without Congressional approval.
We are also distracted by Israel and Netanyahu’s disregard for human rights. What is going to happen to the Jewish state and the world’s opinion of its right to exist if the leadership defies the principles that its people and defenders have always espoused?
And we are distracted by the frustration we feel that Democratic and Republican politicians don’t seem to be doing enough to safeguard the vulnerable among us: immigrants, LGBTQ+, poor, Black and brown, food insecure, uninsured, the elderly, and more.
And we are distracted by people being arrested and harassed for protesting, and by US Senator Alex Padilla, D-Calif., being forcibly removed from a news conference in Los Angeles after he tried to question Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem during a media event related to immigration. Afterwards, only three Republican senators, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, had anything critical to say about how Padilla was treated.
And we are distracted by worrying about people we know who may be deported and what will happen to them in their native countries. We are worried about the huge gaps their departures will leave in health and child care. We worry about others who may lose their jobs in fields they have spent years training for, in education, medicine, scientific research, administration, and a host of other fields where funding will be cut short. We are worried about how they will pay their rent or mortgages and take care of their children.
We are distracted by news that vaccinations and AIDS medications may not be available and we will face epidemics both here and around the world, especially after Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. replaced the entire CDC Vaccine Advisory Panel with like-minded vaccine skeptics.
We are distracted that climate change will be unchecked since Trump’s budget cuts and layoffs aim to cripple the government's ability to research global warming. He wants to eliminate funding for what he calls “the Green New Scam,” including $15 billion in cuts at the Energy Department.
None of this should be an excuse for us ignoring Juneteenth. In fact, ignoring this important date in history is following Trump’s playbook.
His response to Juneteenth was to make no statement of recognition, but to play golf and say that there are too many paid non-working holidays in our country. Ironically, he recently announced three new holidays: Victory Days for World I and II and Gulf of America Day, though none of them will be paid days off.
As for our missing Juneteenth, we won’t make the same mistake next year. We won’t let the holiday go by without recognizing its importance in American history. The end of enslavement marks an important benchmark in our country’s development. Though years of discrimination followed and have not yet disappeared, the end of slavery deserves both our celebration and our attention.
As for the distractions, we will keep trying to find ways to pay attention and to make change.
Together.
Therese (she/her/hers)
Judy (she/her/hers)
Didi (she/her/hers)
Leading Ladies Executive Team
Leadingladiesvote.org
ladies@leadingladiesvote.org