It's Never Too Late to Give Up Your Prejudices

It’s Friday, June 19th and I now know that means it is Juneteenth. Until recently, I was unaware of the significance of this date. That, put simply, it marked the end of American slavery. I live in the USA but am British. Maybe I didn’t know about this because it wasn’t taught in the schools I attended, or maybe it just isn’t taught in any schools? My two daughters attend American schools and they haven’t learnt about it. Why is that? Like many others, I’m becoming increasingly aware of the gaps in my knowledge surrounding black history. I’m raising my hand and admitting that I don’t know what I don’t know. But I’m learning more each day.

This week, I’ve been reading about this event that has been honored by African-Americans since the late 1800s. Let that sink in a moment, since the late 1800s: 1865 to be exact.

On this day more than 150 years ago, Gordon Granger, a union army general, arrived in Galveston, Texas to inform enslaved African-Americans of their freedom and that the Civil War had ended. This announcement came more than two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln put the Emancipation Proclamation into effect on January 1st, 1863, declaring "that all persons held as slaves … shall be then, thenceforth, and forever free." I’ve come to know all of this because of the heightened attention around the Black Lives Matter movement following the tragic events that led to the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and other African-Americans this year. But with this increased awareness come questions. I’m asking myself why I didn’t know about this for so long, and how many others were the same as me?

The Juneteenth flag – yes, there is a flag – is red, white, and blue to echo the American flag and acknowledge that the enslaved people and their descendants were Americans. There are two stars: a middle star which symbolizes Texas, and a second ‘new’ star which is shown bursting onto the horizon of the red and blue fields to represent a new freedom and a new people.

This year will be the first in state history that the Juneteenth flag flies over the State Capitol building, temporarily replacing the Rainbow Pride Flag.

Juneteenth is an official state holiday in Texas. In the beginning, celebrations were simple and involved prayers and family gatherings. This still holds true today for many families who host barbecues in their backyards. Food plays a big part in the festivities. Red foods and drinks are plentiful: spicy ground beef, hot links, and watermelon are washed down with hibiscus tea and kola nut tea. Red kola nuts and hibiscus both came to America with the slave trade and remain traditional drinks. Some towns and cities, especially in the South, also hold parades or musical performances to recognize the event. But it is not a Federal Holiday.

I’m not the only one playing catch up. This week, I’ve observed how the nation is responding to a lack of awareness on a much larger scale. Many American corporations have taken this opportunity to connect with their staff. Some have declared it a public holiday for the first time, others have encouraged employees to cancel meetings, some are offering anti-racism instruction, others are increasing pay for those who are paid hourly. Reflection and education are top of the agenda.

In my small town, people are treating this issue with the seriousness it deserves. We are a largely white population. As a community, we are taking steps to increase diversity, but there is work to be done. As Ibram X. Kendi says, “You can be someone who has no intention to be racist… but because you’re conditioned in a world that is racist and a country that is structured in anti-black racism, you yourself can perpetuate those ideas.”

I’m glad that this conversation is happening, I believe that the world at large is paying attention, and I am cautiously optimistic that this time will be different. In the words of Henry David Thoreau, American essayist, poet, and philosopher, “It is never too late to give up your prejudices.”