"Juneteenth is more than a holiday. It is not just a commemoration of the end of slavery. It is a day that celebrates America’s incredible capacity to self-correct by applying the timeless principles at our country’s core. Yet as we prepare to mark Juneteenth’s second year as a federal holiday, we have to ask: Will we let this celebration fall prey to the division and distraction that are tearing America down? Or will we embrace its true meaning, commit to ending the injustices that surround us, and ultimately lift America up?
"By all rights, Juneteenth should be a day of great unity. When the enslaved people of Galveston, Tex., were told of their freedom on June 19, 1865, the promise of America became much more real and attainable. It was hardly the end of all injustice, but it was the end of one of the country’s original injustices.
That’s why generations of Black Americans made June 19 into a
long-standing holiday. What could be more American than remembering the
forward march of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?" -- Opal Lee and DeForest Soaries in the Washington Post. Lee, 95, is known as the "godmother of Juneteenth", having pushed for its adoption as a Federal holiday for decades. President Biden signed the act making June 19 a Federal Holiday in June 2021. Lee and Soaries are co-chairs of the Heal America movement.
