by Jerome Pearson
June 2021
“I could not vote for this bill, however, because the holiday should not be called ‘Juneteenth National Independence Day’ but rather, ‘Juneteenth National Emancipation (or Freedom or otherwise) Day.’ This name needlessly divides our nation on a matter that should instead bring us together by creating a separate Independence Day based on the color of one’s skin.”
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, also objected to the name of the bill.
When I read some of the statements made by Republicans who voted against this bill, it helps me to better understand all the controversy surrounding the so-called “Critical Race Theory.”
One of the representatives even said voting for the bill is a part of Critical Race Theory. To be quite honest I don’t know all that “Critical Race Theory” entails myself, but I am aware of all the controversy surrounding it.
A few representatives even said that we should not have a holiday that divides us but celebrate the one that unites us, which is Independence Day.
But, in reality both days represent specific historical events. Are they implying that we should recognize the one historical event and then ignore the other? And why should recognizing a historical event divide us?
In actuality, African Americans have been celebrating Independence Day since its inception. And this celebration was being done despite the fact that on Independence Day of 1776, African Americans were not INDEPENDENT. It is quite remarkable that African Americans would happily celebrate a day that did not include them at the time. But they did and continue to do so.
Two of the representatives who voted against the bill are from the state of Texas. But Texas was the first state to celebrate Juneteenth in 1865. This was done because even though the Emancipation Proclamation by Lincoln occurred in January 1863, folks in Texas were not even told until two years later. They remained slaves for two additional years because they were not told until June 19, 1865. As a matter of fact, many slave owners from confederate states moved to Texas after the emancipation because it was viewed as being safe for continuation of slavery.
“The Emancipation Proclamation issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, had established that all enslaved people in Confederate states in rebellion against the Union “shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.”
“But in reality, the Emancipation Proclamation didn’t instantly free any enslaved people. The proclamation only applied to places under Confederate control and not to slave-holding border states or rebel areas already under Union control.
Although emancipation didn’t happen overnight for everyone—in some cases, enslavers withheld the information until after harvest season—celebrations broke out among newly freed Black people, and Juneteenth was born. That December, slavery in America was formally abolished with the adoption of the 13th Amendment.
In 1979, Texas became the first state to make Juneteenth an official holiday. So, although Juneteenth has already been an official holiday in Texas, two Republican Representatives from the State of Texas still voted against it being a Federal Holiday.
I think there can always be reasonable objections to certain events becoming a federal holiday. But the objections made by these representatives just don’t hold water to me and seem to shed more light on their objections to so-called critical race theory.
Perhaps the real objections have more to with not being comfortable with all of our history and only wanting to teach those historical facts that makes us feel comfortable and ignore those that make us uncomfortable.
And the question must be asked why they would be uncomfortable with an historical fact. There is no one blaming them for the historical fact. Perhaps people want to ignore certain facts because they contradict their current perceptions and prevents them from making false proclamations.
When I was in School, although I have always been an “history buff”, as it were, I was never taught anything about Juneteenth. I was, however, taught about Independence Day. So, the fact that l learned about Juneteenth only after all of my official schooling should not be considered Critical Race Theory. It is not a theory but, rather, a fact that I was not taught in school.
History is not always a pretty thing. But history can never be true if we only remember the things we want to remember and forget the things we choose to forget.
Juneteenth is true historical fact and now it is a federal holiday, and anyone has the right to celebrate it or not.
But I can celebrate both Juneteenth and Independence Day, and I have no reservations about either.