Good morning…
“While the Fourth of July, 1776, is the day America declared independence from Great Britain, people of color were not able to celebrate that same freedom,” explains a letter I recently received from my spiritual direction training program. “On July 4th, 1852, here is what Frederick Douglass said in his speech The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro: ‘What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer; a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim.'”
This quote motivated me read the entire speech and to take a closer look at our nations’ history. Nearly thirteen years after Douglass spoke these convicting words, on April 9, 1865, General Robert E. Lee surrendered his Confederate troops to the Union’s Ulysses S. Grant in Virginia, marking the beginning of the end of the grinding four-year-long American Civil War. Two months later, on June 19, 1865, Union General Gordon Granger led thousands of federal troops to Galveston, Texas to announce that the Civil War had ended, and slaves had been freed.
A full 115 years later, in 1980, June 19th was declared an official “holiday of significance particularly for blacks of Texas”, establishing the annual tradition known as Juneteenth. Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration honoring the end of slavery in the United States when people of color gradually began to partake in the freedom that was denied to them for nearly 100 years. I am humbled to admit to you that I had never even heard of Juneteenth until this summer.
With a heightening awareness of racial injustice, I ponder the state of our United States this July 4th, 2020, “one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” My veil of white blindness will continue to be lifted only as I consciously abide with the Spirit of the Lord. As 2 Corinthians 3:14 (AMP) reminds, Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty [emancipation from bondage, true freedom]. From a resting place with God, I watched with open heart the video below. I was deeply drawn to the dark skinned faces of ordinary men, women, and children who are helping me to learn about the true meaning of freedom for all of God’s people.
Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty, emancipation from bondage, true freedom for all of us who are progressively being transformed into the multi-faceted body of the living Christ. It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery (Galatians 5:1, NIV).
Now I invite you to watch this short, captivating video, a video which unveils for us the faces of those helping to pave our way into the full freedom God is orchestrating among us, with liberty and justice for all.
…Sue…
P.S. If you are interested in learning more about the experience of our black brothers and sisters in Christ, please explore the Juneteenth resources below compiled by The Office of Diversity & Inclusion at Richmont Graduate University.
Online References/Articles
https://www.history.com/news/what-is-juneteenth
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/9-things-know-about-history-juneteenth-n594546
https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2020-06-17/juneteenth-what-you-need-to-know
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/501680/12-things-you-might-not-know-about-juneteenth
Videos
The History of Juneteenth, Presented by Dr. Shennette Garrett-Scott.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIi_53jihMM
Juneteenth Jamboree is annual pbs episode committed to seeking out stories that illuminate the history hiding in the shadows of emancipation.
https://www.pbs.org/video/juneteenth-jamboree-a-retrospective-1ftflc/
“Black-Ish” Season 4, Episode 1
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2017/10/04/blackish-gives-a-powerful-history-lesson-with-nods-to-hamilton-and-schoolhouse-rock/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCeAuO8njJI
