Juneteenth reminds us that our country was born in courage … and in sin.
When George Washington rode off in 1775 to lead the colonial army, enslaved men were escaping his plantation. A year later, our forefathers in Congress asserted, on July 4th, 1776, that "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
It would be 86 years & five months after our nation declared its independence that Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation freed the millions of enslaved people in our country; another twenty six months would pass before the surrender by Confederates ended slavery for good in all states and territories.
Even then, it took nearly three more months for word to arrive to the last of the still-enslaved: "you are free.” Only then did we begin to move toward this key ideal within the Declaration of Independence: “that all men are created equal.”
That revelatory date for the last of the enslaved was June 19th, 1865 and was only recently enshrined as a federal holiday. Juneteenth - a day of independence for many, worth celebrating by us all.
By all means we should celebrate today. Tomorrow we continue answering the call to action; because history teaches us that "liberty and justice" comes from sacrifice. After all, America is a redemption story, and we are the redeemers.
