But Someone Did Ask...

I'm going to take you back to my 5th grade Social Studies class. The final homework question for the day was, "Why was the Civil War more Hurtful than the American Revolutionary War"?. Mr. Carry-On was our teacher. He was white, young, from Pennsylvania, and teaching his 2nd year in an all-black student school in South Dallas, Texas, near the Fair Park. He was not ready for the question he was going to receive next. One of my classmates asked, "Why doesn't this book talk about Juneteenth"? Mr. Carry-On was puzzled & ask what was he talking about. And the classroom was in an uproar. How hadn't he heard of Juneteenth? He was a teacher. Bless his heart! He didn't know we were taught in and out of school by parents, grandparents, and teachers(Black, White, & Jewish) about the day Texas slaves found out about the Emancipation Proclamation two years later since before Kindergarten. That textbook tried to fail us. And somebody failed Mr. Carry-On.

June 15th, 2021, I'm far from the 5th grade, but I thought about Mr. Carry-On. The Senate unanimously voted for Juneteenth to be a National holiday. Some Black people(some I am fans of) think that act is performative. We're going to have our cookouts & drink red drinks, but what about voter suppression & student loan reductions? 

Trust me those things are very important. Texas is one of the states trying to change things before the November 2022 election. Without voter suppression, many including the governor could be out of a job. And I want my student loans forgave. As far as I am concerned, Sallie Mae and her biracial niece, Navient are my pimps & I work for them.

But why is make Juneteenth a National holiday thought to be so frivolous?

Is the 90+-year-old, Opal Lee walking campaign to Washington, D.C. to make it a National holiday, frivolous? She's from my neighboring city, Fort Worth. Lee is considered the Grandmother of Juneteenth. She has worked tirelessly to raise national awareness to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. Read about her & her efforts HERE.

Making Juneteenth a National holiday helps Opal Lee and 5th-grade Outspoken_Diva and her classmates educate too many that don't know about June 19. And let's tell the real truth, Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, on Jan. 1, 1863, the US doesn't openly celebrate that factual day either. Don't believe me. Look up why many Black churches have Watch Night services. But what is the rest of the country doing? It wasn't just a New Year to some of our ancestors on that day.

That's why Juneteenth is not "just been made into some National holiday".

And just like we're working on so many other issues of inequality, some work went into this too.

As Always Talking to You in Adult Terms!