A Juneteenth Tribute
Consider what it means that for two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation, human beings remained enslaved simply because no one had told them they were free.
Consider what it means that news of freedom traveled slowly — that liberty could be a piece of information withheld by those in power.
Consider what it means that freedom, once announced, still had to be built. The 13th Amendment abolished slavery. The 14th promised equal protection. The 15th guaranteed voting rights. Yet the full realization of these promises would take another century — and remains incomplete.
Freedom is not a single moment. It is not General Granger reading the orders. It is not the ratification of an amendment. It is not the signing of a bill.
Freedom is waking up each day with the right to determine your own path. It is the ability to live where you choose, work where you choose, love whom you choose, speak as you choose, worship as you choose.
For those whose ancestors were denied these rights for centuries, freedom carries a weight that others may not fully comprehend.
Juneteenth reminds us that:
The celebration of Juneteenth is an act of remembrance and an act of hope. We remember the long night of bondage. We honor those who endured it and those who fought to end it. And we recommit ourselves to the ongoing work of creating a more perfect union.