Juneteenth: The Holiday We Gave Away
By Shevone Torres
As a federal holiday, Juneteenth is giving Capitalism For White People Day. Folks who championed giving the sacred holiday federal status did so with good intentions. Still, the impact creates confusion and straight-up disrespect for Black Americans. Is it too late to protect the celebration that was once sacred?
On June 19, 1865, enslaved Black folks in Galveston, Texas, were told of their freedom. There's no way to conjoin that with capitalism and white supremacy, and yet, America keeps trying.
This year, The Dollar Tree rolled out an entire line of Juneteenth event ware. Unfortunately, it's more than likely that the paper plates were too flimsy to hold the weight of grandma's potato salad. Some may want to believe this is a win for the culture, but most of us know what time it is. Dollar Tree is a $25+ billion white-owned company that couldn't care less about its employees, let alone its consumers. Corporations like Dollar Tree are cashing in on Juneteenth, while many Black American employees work on the federal holiday. Have we not learned from the insidious whitewashing of MLK Jr.?
Should It Even Be on the Menu?
Walmart attempted to collect some Juneteenth coins with red velvet flavored Juneteenth ice cream. The big brand apologized a few hours after announcing its new Juneteenth products, removing all offensive products from shelves. The Children's Museum of Indianapolis made a similar misstep, selling watermelon salad in honor of Juneteenth. I'm serious. Like Walmart, they quickly apologized, and many people were satisfied with the swift response. However, some couldn't understand how we, as a collective, did not see this coming.
A big part of our Juneteenth celebration is the food. Red velvet and watermelon are always on the menu. Our menu. It hits different when it's being served to us by them, and not in a good way.
Where do We Go from Here?
Now that we've gone public with our private holiday, too many non-Black people are trying to get in where they can fit in. Author and activist, Frederick Joseph recently said it best:
Black people should be celebrating being alive in a nation of anti-Blackness and false promises on Juneteenth. Everyone else should be observing and reflecting on anti–Blackness and false promises so they can play a part in stopping them.
If we continue on the track, we're on now, the meaning of Juneteenth will be lost forever…
Shevone Torres (she/her/they/them) is a New Jesey based writer, activist, and founder of Imperfect Village. You can find more of her work on Medium and Twitter
