It’s Juneteenth. It’s not a time to be silent.
I used to work at Ashton Villa in Galveston, where the news of the Emancipation Proclamation was announced on June 19th, 1865, the origin of Juneteenth. I have stories about my time working there in my early 20s. But my stories are not important today; in fact, it would be called “performative allyship” if I told them today. The story I’d like to share in honor of Juneteenth is by Kayla Stewart, a writer for Texas Monthly. She said,
I’ve always observed Juneteenth, but this year the stakes feel higher than ever.
You can read her excellent, gritty, moving and inspiring story here: Essay: Celebrating Juneteenth in 2020 Is an Act of Resistance.
Kayla has a web site with links to more of her compelling stories: click here.
I am currently at Gumbo Cove in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, where this is the news of the day in The Shoofly: Bay St. Louis City Hall Takes Down Mississippi State Flag. Many other cities in Mississippi have done this, including the capitol city of Jackson. You may wonder why, if you’re not American or haven’t seen the Mississippi flag lately. It’s because the Mississippi flag has the confederate flag embedded in it. I didn’t realize that until very recently, and was shocked.
The times, they are a-changin’, my friends. As they should be.
I’ll close with a quote from Barbara Jordan, America’s first black congresswoman, which I’ve referenced before in these pages after seeing it on a sign in Houston.
“One thing is clear to me: we, as human beings, must be willing to accept people who are different from ourselves.”
Amen.
© 2020, Glover Gardens
