Opal Lee’s first march to make Juneteenth a federal holiday was around her church in Ft. Worth, Texas. As she described it to NPR, “I got together some people here. We had a rally, and so after the rally, the people walked with me, and we’ve been going ever since.” Opal Lee ended up walking all the way to Washington DC in 2016. Quite the undertaking, but even more inspiring because she was 90 years old. She has continued to push Congress since. Her petition on Change.org has 1.6M signatures. Last year, she finally saw legislation introduced, on Juneteenth, to make it a holiday. It didn’t pass then, but has been reintroduced this year.
What is Juneteenth?
Juneteenth celebrations began in Texas 150 years ago to commemorate the day that news of the Emancipation Proclamation finally reached Galveston, nearly two and a half years after it was issued. Texas made it a state holiday in 1980. Since then, 47 states have added it as a state holiday or observance. A growing number of companies like Quicken Loans, Nike, Citigroup, Target and yes, WeSpire, observe it as a paid holiday. Major banks, including JP Morgan Chase, Capital One, PNC and Fifth Third close early.
For many who celebrate Juneteenth, it’s an opportunity to teach African-American heritage and culture. Traditions include reading the Emancipation Proclamation, singing traditional gospel songs and reading works by noted writers like Ralph Ellison and Maya Angelou. Bar-B-Q and soul food anchor many a celebration and red food and drinks are served, a symbol of ingenuity and resilience in bondage.
For Lee, commemorating the holiday means more than recognizing a historical moment. It’s about embracing unity and equity more boldly as a nation. She points out in her petition that slaves didn’t free themselves and that they had help from allies – politicians, abolitionists, soldiers and others who gave their lives for freedom of the enslaved. “We need to be aware that we can do so much more together than being apart,” Lee told CNN. “We can pull our resources (together), learn from each other, and make the world a better place to live.”
Continuing to Strive for Equity, Unity, and Justice
It is that sentiment that ultimately drove our decision to celebrate Juneteenth at WeSpire. We need as leaders to acknowledge that the work of emancipation is still not done: not in our companies, our cities or our nation. We must actively do more, every day, to bring about racial equity, unity and justice. It starts by increasing awareness and education, but ultimately it requires changing our behaviors. How we hire and promote. How we treat people in meetings. Who we choose to mentor and sponsor. Who we sit with at lunch and include in the casual, informal after work events. And take it from someone who knows a lot about behavior change: this work is hard.
But it’s arguably the most important work we can be doing. Inclusive, equitable businesses are better, stronger businesses. Inclusive equitable communities are better, stronger communities. And inclusive, equitable nations are ultimately better, stronger nations.
By taking a day to honor and celebrate when we did the right thing as a nation, we will also have an opportunity to reflect, and recommit to fixing, all that we still haven’t gotten right. So if you haven’t signed Opal’s petition, go sign it. If you haven’t asked your company or school to make Juneteenth a holiday, go ask. If you’ve never celebrated it, start. The promise of emancipation may have started in 1863, but it’s up to us to see it through.
Quote of the Week: “Struggle is a never ending process. Freedom is never really won, you earn it and win it in every generation.”Coretta Scott King