New York State Senator, Cordell Cleare and Metropolis Council Member, Yusef Salaam lead the parade for Masjib Malcolm Shabazz’s thirty first annual Juneteenth celebration in Harlem on Saturday, June 15.
Picture ET Rodriguez
Juneteenth is far more than simply the latest vacation on the federal calendar; it’s a profound lesson in equality and the significance of the continued work to make this union referred to as America extra excellent at present than yesterday.
This vacation marks the emancipation of the final slaves in America, who had been informed of their freedom on June 19, 1865 — roughly two months after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, who two years earlier signed the Emancipation Proclamation releasing all these in bondage inside our nation.
Lincoln signed the proclamation on Jan. 1, 1863, amid the continued Civil Struggle sparked by the query of slavery and whether or not this nation would ever fulfill the Declaration of Independence doctrine of all males being created equal. It could take greater than two extra years of battle and sluggish communications for the ultimate slaves on this nation, residing in Texas, to lastly obtain the liberty that they had been so lengthy denied.
The spirit of Juneteenth could be summarized in one thing that President John F. Kennedy declared on the top of the Chilly Struggle, on the Berlin Wall, almost a century later: “Freedom is indivisible, and when one man is enslaved, all are usually not free.”
Nobody in 1863 or 1864 may have a good time the emancipation of 1 slave in America whereas so many others remained captive. Solely after the final slaves obtained the information of their freedom may this nation totally rejoice.
And but, within the years that adopted, this nation confronted one effort after one other to oppress Black People and deny them the equal rights they deserve.
Because of the everlasting work of freedom fighters like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., John Lewis, Rosa Parks and Malcolm X, a lot progress has been made to advance the reason for freedom in America. Voting rights had been codified into legislation and the Structure; “separate-but-equal” segregation was destroyed within the courts.
The nation took large steps towards offering freedom and justice for all People — but even at present, America faces efforts by ignorant politicians to have equal rights and voting rights stripped or restricted for People of all walks of life.
“Freedom is indivisible, and when one man is enslaved, all are usually not free.” When rights are unjustly taken from one American, they’re taken from all People.
We won’t obtain full freedom on this nation if People are suppressed for any cause — by shade, by creed, by race, by gender, by sexual orientation. We should reject any efforts to disclaim freedom to those that want to dwell free on this nice land.
On this Juneteenth and past, allow us to carry the spirit of this nice vacation ahead to achieve, as Lincoln famously stated, “a brand new beginning of freedom” each now and for generations of People to return.
