IANA Blog- June 2023

Blog

Happy June,

For those that don’t know, Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021. This holiday commemorates the “emancipation” of Enslaved African Americans, especially the enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865. In Texas and the American South, it’s been celebrated for years…in the Bay Area…especially Oakland and Berkeley, we’ve been celebrating Juneteenth. Like I said, now that it’s being celebrated as a federal holiday, and when I found that out, I already knew that…well…let’s just say…something was about to happen…

First off, I know what you’re thinking…why am I bringing up Juneteenth…on the IANA blog, besides from the fact that it’s June. Well, Juneteenth did originate in Texas, and Texas is home to a lot of Nigerians, including members in our association, and a majority of Black Americans do have West African blood, especially Nigerian blood, so it’s all interconnected.

I still remember in 2022, I was celebrating Juneteenth at the Juneteenth Festival in Berkeley. Every year, there is a Block party in South Berkeley and part of the neighborhood gets blocked off. Black people and others get together to celebrate, commemorate, listen to music, live performances, dance, eat, have fun…like every other Juneteenth event I’ve been to…but I remember something that I know I’d have to get used to…I saw a White guy with a dashiki. At first I was thinking, “Ah, here we go…” until I saw that he had half-Black kids, and then I was like…”OK, that kinda makes sense.” But I thought of that, because I was worried about how Juneteenth would be taken advantage of.

A couple days before Juneteenth 2023, I remember while having a discussion with members of DetermiNation Black Men’s Group in Oakland, and we were talking about Juneteenth. When I was asked about Juneteenth, I brought up how it’s Black History, and that Black History is American History and World History and that same history is being taken away from people here in the U.S., and that the holiday is in danger of being commodified and trivialized. After I said that, our facilitator asked if it is OK for White people to celebrate Juneteenth and it had me and the rest of the group thinking about it. I thought to myself that “yeah, they can celebrate it…but if they’re gonna be doing some BS, (like I said earlier) when it comes to celebrating Juneteenth…then they shouldn’t.” Another member said that because of the way Black people are targeted in the prison system and how prison is basically modern day slavery, it proves that celebrating Juneteenth is pointless.

I also remember on the day of Juneteenth, Abbas Muntaquim, an activist from West Oakland who is also a part of the New Afrikan Socialist Organization, People’s Programs, posted his thoughts of Juneteenth online and I had to agree with him. Abbas wrote this: They kill and enslave us. Then they “recognize” the killing and enslaving and federalize a “holiday.” Make money off the “holiday.” And they continue to kill us. Continue to enslave us. While the enslaved go get drunk and party in the name of said holiday. Acting like we are free. We are consenting to our own oppression and enslaving ourselves. New slaves. When will we truly be free? Reading that, I was thinking, “This is exactly what I’m talking about!” I had the fear that people would treat Juneteenth like they treat Cinco De Mayo or how they treat Saint Patrick’s Day or even how people treat Labor Day, as one of my friends brought up how many don’t actually know the real history of Labor Day and take advantage of that holiday as well. Abbas also referenced Frederick Douglass’ famous speech “What to the slave is the Fourth of July?” and asked “if we’re still slaves under this system of settler colonialism, capitalism and imperialism, what to the slave is Juneteenth?”

I know I’m ranting, but it’s going to be interesting how Juneteenth will be like in the next couple of years and from what I see, I would not be surprised…but that’s just me.

For all the members of IANA, what is your opinion on Juneteenth? Do you celebrate it? How do you imagine it in the next couple of years?