Happy Juneteenth!!
**Cover photo obtained here. Searched for “creative commons licensing.”
Last year President Biden made this a federal holiday. I only learned about this celebration in black communities a few years before that. So if you aren’t in the know, here’s a little history of the holiday. Many slaves in the South didn’t know they were free until two years *after* the Emancipation Proclamation!! Two years!!! (You know why.) And all slaves across the U.S. weren’t freed until the 13th Amendment was passed, a few months after the freed slaves in Texas learned about their freedom.
Why is this holiday important now? Because black folks are free-ish. Go read the statistics on incarceration, poverty, public health and more pertaining to black folks. If educating yourselves about what our white supremacist systems are doing to BIPOC (black, indigenous, and people-of-color) neighbors doesn’t open your eyes and heart, you might want to remove the armor and those rose-colored glasses.
Then there are the broader symptoms of white supremacy that affect anyone who is different from the white, able-bodied, neurotypical, Christian, rich, heterosexual male “norm.” A hierarchy of human values, as Valarie Kaur puts it. White supremacy is America’s oldest lie, and it hurts *everybody.*
As Fannie Lou Hamer said, “Nobody’s free until everyone’s free.” White supremacy hurts everyone and holds us down and apart (to differing degrees) so that those hoarding power can continue to exploit our labor, health, planet, etc…
Which is why Juneteenth is important to recognize as a holiday. Folks still aren’t free. Most of us believed the lie that the slaves were freed with the Emancipation Proclamation. Some folks think racism was erased with having a black President. The lies need to stop. Declaring a holiday without enacting any policy to support our black neighbors, whose ancestors helped to build this country, doesn’t fix some of this. Last year, I thought it was insulting for Biden to do that with no substantive change to accompany it. So we can celebrate, and there’s more work to be done.
Juneteenth is an opportunity to learn more and do better as white folks, and to celebrate freedom and what this nation could be with our black neighbors. So if you get it, enjoy your Monday off. And how will you be celebrating Juneteenth?
Know Better, Do Better
On the topic of personal growth, I want to share an experience I had today. A friend called to check in. They started talking about somethings going on in their life. And my response? “Did you try this…?” “Have you thought about it this way…?” “You should do this…”
Fix-it mode. An old, deep habit that I get a lot of opportunities to practice around. At one point they reminded me they were just calling to check-in, and it popped me back into the moment. I realized what I was doing. And I apologized for going there.
I pretty recently that stems from white supremacist culture too. Fix-it mode. Striving to move-act-do instead of just being in the moment. Striving to make yourself feel like you are helping, instead of being there for the other person in the way they need. A way of communicating that leads to disconnection.
**Stop … Breathe**
After I understood what they needed, we talked for a bit more. Unfortunately they couldn’t talk for too long, and quickly had to go. I missed an opportunity really be there for my friend.
I found the below meme that seems helpful in checking in with a person to make sure you are there for them in the way they are looking for. Once I realized what I was doing, this sort of thing popped into my head.
I will say that I’m glad I recognized the pattern within the conversation. In the past, I might not have.
Dress Challenge
Just a few days left in the dress challenge. I have switched off to wearing shorts and shirts a bit again. Though with the Florida heat, I often do costume changes during the day. So the dress is in the mix for that. I have had a lot less laundry to do with this challenge, which is nice, because I hate folding laundry. Obviously it’s more eco-friendly too. The dress has held up well. I did snag a hole in it, but I did visible mending to cover the hole and it’s cute. There has been some bleaching of the pit-area of the dress, but it’s not where you can generally see it. I must have super sweat.
As far as other components that I added on to the challenge: I’m feeling like I might do something with my hair again. Either buzz it down, color it, or both. Or maybe not… I did go in for a haircut on the back during this, but the top has been growing.
I’ve started making art more regularly but haven’t been great about posting it. I do like the idea of moving on selling my arts and crafts, and the website will be part of that. (Without feeling too *sales-y,* I hope.) I think I need to make a plan to really move on that. Once I do that and act on it, it will be habit.
Closing Out
I’m still in counseling, though I have a couple of weeks off due to either my Counselor or me traveling. But with that, I mostly feel Ok. Tired a lot, not riding my bike a lot but more than I was. I am making art a lot, and I’ve been pretty consistent with my morning practice. So those things feel better.
Wishing liberation and revolutionary love *for all.*
If you look for despair, you’ll find despair.
If you look for joy, you’ll find joy.
Both can exist and both are important. Or at least making space for grieving the despair. We can hold multitudes and more than one thing can be true at a time. And when talking about slavery, despair was forced upon black folks. Not to say those enslaved people didn’t create pockets of joy. But that sentiment when talking about oppressed people only partially fits. It erases the damage done by trauma.
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