![]() Myers founded the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation more than 25 years ago, and got Juneteenth on the calendars in 43 states and the District of Columbia. Juneteenth celebrations are relatively new, even to many in the Black community. Steve Williams, President of the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation who advocated on Capitol Hill for Juneteenth to be made a national holiday, said proper Juneteenth gatherings should include readings of the “freedom documents”: the Emancipation Proclamation the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery and General Order No. 3, the 1865 document that notified enslaved Texans of their freedom. Juneteenth church services may include a gospel choir performance, and this year, the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation is asking houses of worship to post on their doors General Order No. Churches have always been a place of refuge in the Black community. Many Juneteenth celebrations, Robinson says, involve going to church, so he encourages people to go to a church where the minister will talk about Juneteenth. Reacting to Walmart’s Juneteenth ice cream debacle he says, “We don’t have a Veterans Day ice cream, we don’t have a Memorial Day ice cream.” He suggests companies make a special effort to partner with Black entrepreneurs and companies for the holiday because Juneteenth “is all about healing and righting the wrongs that resulted from slavery.” Right now, it is just a picnic day to a lot of people.”Ĭliff Robinson, who runs the website which lists Juneteenth celebrations nationwide, says that people should think of Juneteenth as another Memorial Day-which commemorates Americans who died serving their country or Veterans Day-which celebrates those who served. ![]() It was mainly within the Black community, so we do need to have more education as to what Juneteenth means. ![]() “We’ve been the stepchild of holidays for years. “I’m hoping that I don’t look up one day and see Juneteenth sales like you see Fourth of July sales, but of course at some point in the future it could happen,” says Deborah Evans, a spokesperson for the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation, which promotes educational programming about Juneteenth and advocated for Juneteenth to become a federal holiday. And they said that while summer gatherings with friends and family are totally appropriate for Juneteenth, those celebrations should ideally support the Black community in some way, and include an educational component-whether reflecting on the origins of the holiday and its legacy or participating in ongoing work to achieve full racial equality. They all agreed that it will take some time for most Americans to learn the best ways to honor Juneteenth-and that some commercialization is to be expected. TIME talked to Black activists who have organized Juneteenth celebrations for decades-including campaigners who advocated for Juneteenth to become a national holiday, a goal they achieved in 2021. John Mosley, who has been organizing Juneteenth gatherings in New Orleans since the early 1990s. ![]() “You know that song ‘June Is Bustin’ Out All Over?’ It’s like Juneteenth is bustin’ out all over,” says Rev. And Dollar Tree garnered criticism from Black Twitter users for promoting Juneteenth-themed paper plates and napkins. The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis apologized for selling a Juneteenth-themed watermelon salad in its cafeteria. Walmart apologized for selling pints of Juneteenth-themed red velvet ice cream-which some said was similar to one sold by a Cincinnati-based Black-owned business Creamalicious. ![]() Many will get a long weekend that includes Monday, June 20-but, especially given the holiday’s history, figuring out appropriate ways to mark that day is still a work in progress.Īlready, companies are learning how not to celebrate Juneteenth. Americans are preparing to observe the newest federal holiday on Sunday: Juneteenth, in honor of the June 19, 1865, occasion on which enslaved men and women in Galveston, Texas, found out they were free after the Civil War. ![]()
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