JUNETEENTH: COMMEMORATION INTERVIEW

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Juneteenth: The Commemoration of June 19, 1865

To avoid being the only black voice on the topic of Juneteenth--especially considering that I did not grow up knowing about or celebrating this very important holiday--and to reach beyond our congregation’s perspectives, I interviewed several of my friends to get their perspectives and opinions on the significance of June 19, both in history and today. They are listed below: 

  • JANAY RUSSELL: African American female from Chicago (descendant of enslaved Africans  in the United States) in her mid-20s

  • ANGELLE HENDERSON: African American female from New Orleans (descendant of enslaved Africans in the United States) in her early 20s

  • DEVON NAVE: African American male from Indianapolis (descendant of enslaved Africans in the United States) in his mid-20s

  • GERALYN SMITH: African American female from New Orleans (descendant of enslaved Africans in the United States) in her mid-20s

  • SHELENE BAIYEE: First-generation African American female from Indianapolis (dad from Cameroon and mom from St. Croix) in her early 20s


COTY MILLER: What is Juneteenth?

JANAY RUSSELL: It's a holiday that celebrates the last state to receive independence for African Americans, or acknowledge it. I wonder how the once enslaved Texans felt when they heard the news. I wonder, “Did they know how June 19 would impact the future?” 

ANGELLE HENDERSON: Juneteenth, from what I was taught, is the day in which African American enslaved people were liberated in this country, so, the true Independence Day when the Emancipation Proclamation was fulfilled and we were determined--or deemed--free people. 

DEVON NAVE: I grew up not knowing a ton about Juneteenth. And I never really maybe knew specifically what it was, but it would come up in conversations due to just being involved in different museums and different conversations at a young age. I’ve heard different terms for Juneteenth. I’ve heard Freedom Day. I’ve heard Jubilee Day. 

GERALYN SMITH: I don’t think I heard about Juneteenth until I was, the earliest a senior in high school, and it was probably college where I learned about it. And I think my earliest memory of understanding Juneteenth was... It might’ve been a “Black-ish” episode. It was some TV show, and they were talking about Juneteenth, and they had this cute little animation. And from talking to other people, I heard that there were barbecues involved. It’s like the black Independence Day. America has July 4th. Black America has Juneteenth. 

SHELENE BAIYEE: June 19th holds weight, but I don’t know for what reason. Like, my family definitely didn’t celebrate it growing up. I don’t even think if I ask them, they would know. Maybe my dad, um, because he’s just more culturally aware of just different things going on. Um, I know for a fact my parents didn’t celebrate it growing up because they immigrated here. ...So it seems familiar, like I feel like I should know June 19th, but I have never heard the phrase, “Juneteenth.” 

MILLER: What’s its significance?

HENDERSON: It’s just freedom, for me. Was it the level of freedom that we deserved? No. But it was a step towards that freedom. I think it’s extremely significant for all people, especially black people in this country, especially descendants of enslaved people, like myself. That was the day that an ounce of my ancestors' dreams could start coming true. And, I mean, look at us now? We still have a lot of issues in this country, but when I think of my ancestors, when I think of Adelaide [an ancestor], I think, Woah, like, you’re descendant is about to go to an Ivy league law school. These are things that she probably couldn’t have possibly dreamed of or expected or have logically hoped for, and that brings me joy, genuinely.

NAVE: [Juneteenth was] the end of the legal public way of slavery, but slavery still went on…

BAIYEE: It’s significant because it was the last day of official slavery in the United States, although it has appeared in many many different cloths. We are currently and still enslaved by menial labor positions--don’t get me started. As you know, my sister works at [a fast-food chain and a retail corporation] with predominantly black and brown people and all of them have three to four jobs and most of them are fighting to keep food on the table, pay for their bills, and send their children to school. [To me], this doesn’t make sense. We literally came to this country--black people at large--to work in labor to keep this country working and running and to get it to the economy that it is today. Now, as you see, as our country faces a pandemic and a crisis, who are we relying on, on the frontlines to keep this country running and operating? Who is the economy reliant on? If there was a strike with all the menial labor positions, which is predominantly filled with black and brown people--40% of the menial labor positions are African American--this country would literally fall apart. Yet, it is black and brown people who relentlessly are on government support, are also struggling at large to pay for bills, but they are continuously in this cycle of labor and work. So, I think we are in a more modern form of slavery, just in a different form of cloth, known as uniforms, such as Walmart, McDonald’s uniforms, Wendy’s, all those sorts of things.   

MILLER: What does Juneteenth mean to you and/or your family? 

RUSSELL: It's a pretty significant day, but I didn't know about it until later in life. I'm a little embarrassed to admit that. My parents didn't really talk about it, I didn't learn much about it in school, and I didn't hear about it much in pop culture. I just knew it was an important day for black history. I remember that whole Google controversy that they didn't have a doodle for it, unlike other holidays. I bet they'll have one this year. I feel with all that's happening, a lot more individuals are going to talk about/celebrate Juneteenth this year.

SMITH: We never, like, celebrated it in my home. I won’t say New Orleans didn’t celebrate it, ‘cause I don’t know. But the people that I grew up around and in my neighborhoods, it was never really a big thing. Now that I’m older and now that I recognize that this day exists and this is a time for celebration in the black community, I definitely want it to be a part of my future family’s cultural celebration.

 HENDERSON: Growing up my family never celebrated Juneteenth, but we also never celebrated July 4th. It was just a break for everyone, you know? But I guess for me, I think that’s the Independence Day that I would truly celebrate, because if we were left under the British we would’ve been freed 30 years before, which, I would’ve been perfectly fine with. 

MILLER: So when you say your family didn’t really even celebrate July 4th, it was just a break for your family, what do you mean by that? 

HENDERSON:  It was just, like, no one was working. Like, we just chilled in the house. Some other family members would have barbecues because everyone was off, and it would be a family gathering, but it wasn’t in celebration of 4th of July. We never had 4th of July decorations. We never popped fireworks. It was never, “Happy 4th of July.” It was just, “Oh, so-and-so’s having a barbecue; let’s slide.” 

MILLER: Was that intentional? Intentionally not celebrating it as an Independence Day or is that just how your family did it? 

HENDERSON: I have no idea. I think for my father it was intentional. He was just like, “I’m not going to teach my child that this is a day that she should truly be celebrating.” And also, when I learned in high school more about it, my own personal research, it was definitely a no-go, we’re not celebrating this whatsoever.  

MILLER: Are you for celebrating Juneteenth and July 4th or just Juneteenth, or neither, and why? 

HENDERSON: It’s kind of difficult for me to wrap my head around celebrating July 4th as Independence Day when we weren’t independent, we weren’t free, we weren’t any of that, so for me, Juneteenth is the day in which African Americans should truly be celebrating their independence. I just don’t see the purpose as a black woman to celebrate 4th of July, but for other people, they may have their own reasons to celebrate 4th of July. A black military family might have their own personal reasons to celebrate the 4th of July instead of Juneteenth or along with Juneteenth. I think everyone has their differences, so I’m not going to say that they should celebrate Juneteenth over 4th of July, but I do think that Juneteenth should be celebrated for, at minimum, African American families in this country.

RUSSELL: I always had a complicated relationship with July 4. I'm for it: I look forward to the fireworks and the day off of school or work. I know it's an American holiday and I'm an American, but I know that it really hasn't impacted black people over the years. I'm for Juneteenth. Like I said, I think it's an important day for black history. I wish I would've learned the importance of the day earlier in life.

NAVE: I don’t know how to celebrate it; I’ve never celebrated it, quote on quote. In my own personal way, when I’ve seen, like, the #Juneteenth, I’m like, “Oh it’s Juneteenth.” I acknowledge it in my own way, but I don’t know how to celebrate it. Like, July 4th, you go put on fireworks. You go wear red, white, and blue. You go to a parade. You know how to celebrate. Because 4th of July, that’s freedom as well. How I see the 4th of July, to me, it’s freedom for, if I’m just going to put it out there, it’s freedom for the white man. Maybe not freedom for white women, but it was the start of white men’s freedom to rule in America. For white women...they were expected to clean and take care of the kids and that was it unless they were at war. If you put Juneteenth next to July 4th, I look at it as Juneteenth being the opportunity for any black individual being allowed freedom in a sense. They weren’t free from everything. They were just free from slavery. This is how I see it: Juneteenth, I mean I could celebrate it if I knew how. But if I do dive deep, I do feel that is not a valid celebration because we still were quote-on-quote enslaved. We weren’t able to vote. We were being discriminated against well after--I mean we still are. I just see it as an opportunity to step a little further, but the whites, they still controlled it. It wasn’t like we did something major because we deserved it. It was like they had control, even though it was granted to us.  

SMITH: I definitely think we should have both. One shouldn’t take away from the other. I think they’re going to mean different things to different people. So when I think of the 4th of July, I don’t get excited about freedom for America, I get excited about barbecue food because that doesn’t really mean anything for my people. But, at the same time, I wouldn’t expect someone else to feel the same way about Juneteenth that I would feel. They are two separate things. You know, like, you wouldn’t say, “Should we have Christmas or should we have Easter.” They’re two separate celebrations of two separate events.  

BAIYEE: I think there should definitely be both. And I’m honestly kind of sorry for myself--not sorry for myself. But I’m just like, “You didn’t know what [Juneteenth] was?” I feel like I should know what it is. I have argued that history books need to be rewritten. They are written from the white lense, and that’s just not okay. They need to have all perspectives. And I just think it’s disrespectful and doing a disservice to all of the future of America that we have history books like this. ‘Cause it’s just dry. Juneteenth! How come little children don’t know about this? I think every little child should know about Juneteenth. And if you want to celebrate it, you can. Just as Geralyn said, it holds more weight and more significance. For me too, all I look forward to for July 4th is the barbecue. I think they should both be celebrated. I will continue to celebrate July 4th, ‘cause it’s the day of barbecuing, celebration, home-cooked food, and music. 

MILLER: The question then is, could you not take that type of celebration and put it for Juneteenth? Is there any more significance to July 4th for you all besides the barbecue? Because that can just be transferred over. 

BAIYEE: At the end of the day, we’re still fighting to be recognized as full American citizens. And I think by celebrating [July 4th], we are standing, with the fact that we, too, are American as black people. So I think, you don’t have to necessarily ignore it. In all honesty, you could transfer the celebration; that’s a good point. I think there’s not enough black life being, like, commemorated and celebrated, and I think Juneteenth could be an opportunity to celebrate just black life in general, all the people who came before us, and all of our ancestors whether they immigrated or have been here for generations, regardless. I think it should be more of a celebration of black lives. That’s what I think Juneteenth should turn into. 

MILLER: Should only African Americans celebrate Juneteenth or should everyone be celebrating Juenteenth over or along with July 4th?

HENDERSON: I personally think it should be a national holiday. I think that everyone should celebrate it as Americans because that was the day that we had an ounce of moral high ground. I wouldn’t even say a high ground, but, in the moral aspect of how our country has long spoke about morality and judged other countries for what they ate or what they practiced or what they believed or how they policed people, all of these things, yet African Americans were unequal in every sense of the word, dejure and defacto. I think it should be celebrated because that was the day that there was some type of morality that was displayed in this country.  

SMITH: Come one, come all, you know. It’s honoring African Americans, but I mean, if you want to be a part of the legacy, be about it, you know?  

CGNE’s Worship Director Coty Miller conducted the interview and adapted it for the Web.

Katie Erickson