America's 2nd Independence

I'm enjoying this Juneteenth holiday and because it falls on a Thursday, it contributes to what will be a four-day weekend, and some much needed time away from work. But, what is Juneteenth? Why is it important? And who can we recognize for this holiday, that draws our attention to a most significant day in U.S History? A day we should consider as, America's 2nd Independence, as it commemorates the official end of Slavery in the United States. Texas was the last state to holdout, and didn't abolish slavery until June 19, 1865, a long two & a half years after Lincoln's September 22, 1862 Emancipation Proclamation that declared all slaves in the Confederate States free on January 1, 1863.

Hold-on, fact check time. Actually, New Jersey was the last state to rid themselves of slavery, and that didn't happen until December of 1865, when the 13th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, making slavery legal only as punishment for those imprisoned. This bit of altered history, may lead some to discredit this holiday and it's importance, because they may believe it wrongly identifies Texas as the last State, because of it's association with the Confederacy and trying to destroy the Union over what was believed to be a State's right for people to own other people.

We shouldn't allow the historical misinformation to diminish the significance of this holiday, and the story of the woman, who is credited with bringing this tremendous issue to the forefront of the American conscious. It's impossible to be an American and ignorant to the existence of slavery in our past, and the civil conflicts it has perpetually created in the United States. It's this paradigm that drives the importance of this day, and why one woman made it her life's work to establish this day as a national holiday. The story of Opal Lee is one of determination and hope. Her tireless efforts to make Juneteenth a national holiday, shows how one person's passion can change the course of history and contribute to our promise of forming a more perfect Union.

Opal Lee, often called "the Grandmother of Juneteenth," dedicated decades of her life to raising awareness for the significance of this day; as it's the day we officially recognize the end of slavery in the United States. June 19, 1865 is the day when General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, TX and read General Order No. 3, demanding that the State's 250,000 slaves be emancipated. This day is a moment of reflection and joy for many; however, it's also a day when embarrassment and shame are exposed. Lee recognized these complex and conflicting issues, and made it her mission to educate people of the importance and need to recognize this day, as a necessary way to heal ourselves as a nation. In 2016 at the age of 89, her passion and dedication led her to begin walking from Fort Worth, TX to Washington DC, on this day every year since, symbolizing the long journey it took the United States to go from giving slaves their freedom on paper in the nation's Capitol, to their actual physical freedom in the States.

The road to making Juneteenth a national holiday was not an easy one for Opal Lee to travel, as she faced many challenges from a nation still grappling with the wounds of slavery and racism. The uneasiness of a country to expose the scars from those injuries, resulted in Opal Lee being met with either resistance, indifference, or apathy; but all collectively contributed to what seemed like a nation of people that did not want to accept its painful past. However, in a move of redemption in 1980, her home state of Texas, was the first state to officially recognize Juneteenth. This reinvigorated Opal's hope and motivated her to give even more effort nationally. Through her tireless campaigning, organizing public events, speaking at schools, and reaching out to lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, her efforts finally led to the introduction of a bill in Congress, which ultimately resulted in Juneteenth being recognized as a federal holiday, when President Joe Biden with Congress signed into law on June 17, 2021 the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act.

Opal Lee has fought tirelessly over the last seven decades to bring awareness to the fact, that those in America who are descendants of slaves, have a much different history to their Declaration of Independence, from the rest of America. It's a history that subject them to the slow abolition of slavery, only to then see it reimplemented by the 13th Amendment; making it legal to use enslavement as punishment for breaking the laws, that were intentionally enacted to make their mere existence illegal. Opal and her family were subject to the extreme violence of the Jim Crow era, that spanned from the 1870s through the 1960s. In June 1939, her parents bought a house in the 900 block of East Annie Street, then a mostly white area of Fort Worth, TX. On June 19, 1939, 500 white rioters vandalized and burned down their home. Lee was twelve years old at the time. Recalling this event years later, she said, "The fact that it happened on the 19th day of June has spurred me to make people understand that Juneteenth is not just a festival".

Opal Lee’s relentless pursuit of recognition for Juneteenth to be more than than just a holiday, but also a day that encourages honest education about our past, was born not only from her personal experiences of racism, but from the collective history of all those in the United States, who are descended from African slaves, and have the brutalities of racism literally hanging from their family trees. For 100 years after slavery black Americans were subject to having their homes, businesses and towns burned down; they were being lynched or imprisoned for being in public, or outright murdered arbitrarily; many times due to being falsely accused of something. This is what has motivated Lee to establish this day as more than just a celebration for the end of slavery, but for a day that promotes the honest history of Black Americans.

Lee definitely believes Juneteenth to be a day to rejoice, as we identify it as the accomplishment of ending slavery in the United States; even if it technically identifies the wrong State, and it's six months premature. However, as an educator, Lee understands that it also needs to be a day that promotes the honest education and truthful history of Black America from Slavery to to Independence, and how that history impacts not just their culture, but the entire country as well. This truthful look, isn't a requirement for Americans to take responsibility for our ancestor's horrible actions, but rather a requirement for us to understand that the horrible actions of our ancestors placed upon Black Americans for more than four centuries, has resulted in systemic racism and biases that have negatively impacted them and their communities; leaving them more likely to be disadvantaged than all other Americans.

Opal Lee's legacy will be that of a woman who persevered herself through a life filled with the social, economic, and political disadvantages of systemic racism, but through education she went on to become the torch bearer for those Americans, like her, who have suffered through the violence of racism, all because they were born as descendants to African slaves. Her story highlights how she didn't succumb to the weight of the violence in the world around her, but rather she rose above it, fueled by the hatred she experience to successfully create a national holiday, that could help combat the bigotry that has historically tried to hold Black America down. Lee's ability to take Juneteenth from a day of remembrance to a national holiday is a testament to her strength and determination. Juneteenth serves as a reminder of freedom and unity, encouraging everyone to reflect on history and work towards a brighter, more cooperative, understanding, and equitable future. All thanks to the courage of one woman, who believed in humanity and the promise of American Democracy.