Juneteenth

In this Pride Month of 2023, marking another milestone seems just as important as continuing the ongoing struggle for full inclusion and equity for people who identify as LGBTQ+.

I love Juneteenth. While it has long been embraced by the Black citizens of Texas, and parts of Oklahoma since its inception in 1865, much of the nation had no knowledge of it. But like many aspects of life in America, the seed of its existence, was well rooted in the nation and in the last 20 years has blossomed in our consciousness.

June 19, 1865 – two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation – enslaved people in Texas were informed that they were now “free.”

My Juneteenth celebration this year was planned to bring family and community together to acknowledge our need for each other, just to survive, and to honor our ancestry that made it possible to live “free-ish” as Black folk in a country that has worked diligently to keep us second class citizens by denying us freedom and access.

June is Pride month as well as the celebration of Juneteenth. Amid all of the celebrations, I have been reflecting on liberation and freedom and their meaning.