Publisher’s Commentary by Wallace J. Allen IV
On June 19, 1865, two and half years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, General Gordon Granger of the Union Army landed in Galveston, Texas to inform the enslaved men and women of Texas, that they were no longer enslaved and in principle, free!
Though being enslaved naturally made freedom a goal, freedom did not come with an instruction book, or more importantly, forty acres and a mule, which were the main survival tools of the day; however, the fact that freedom did come with ready-made ‘haters’ didn’t change the fact that at least the title of the unfinished song was established, and shouted from the swamps to the rooftops… JUNETEENTH!
Freedom did not have to be fully delivered or even described to be smelled and felt… It was/is as sweet and tangible as an apple! JUNETEENTH was/is the title of our unfinished song. Verses of success, despite hate, are part of our playlist! Verses of stolen inventions, music, land and lives are not just the Blues; they represent the ‘never quit’ tenacity that has pushed Black folk to make the highest level of contribution to America’s successful evolution!
We celebrated Juneteenth before it was made a federal holiday in 2020 by the Biden Administration! Some suggest that the naming of the national holiday was more for America’s conscience than for celebrating Black Folks freedom… They justify that attitude by pointing to the vital statistics that describe Black people’s freedom status in America… Black infants die at twice the rate of white infants… Black men are disproportionately incarcerated… Black folk are twice as likely to be unemployed… Black home ownership is about 45% while white home ownership is about 75%… White families hold roughly 6 to 7 times the wealth of Black Families.
It is not news that there are some who continue the tradition of hate and are pushing to expand those disparities! Nor is it news that the quest to finish our unfinished song is ongoing, and that every June 19th is a reminder to celebrate the lives and commitments of heroes and she-roes past, present and future.
Let us ‘Walk together children, developing and writing new verses to our Unfinished Juneteenth Freedom song!
