Apologies = Progress, But We’ve Got Work To Do
Every year, June 19th – Juneteenth, as it is called – is considered a holiday commemorating the end of slavery.
Why June 19th? According to popular renditions of the story, it has “come to be understood as the date Union Gen. Gordon Granger, arriving in Galveston on June 19, 1865, brought the news of emancipation and set Texas slaves free“.
This Juneteenth is a particularly interesting one, for several reasons. Last night, the Senate voted unanimously to “apologize for slavery and segregation“, in a symbolic measure that is set to pass on this Juneteenth 2009. Moreover, a man who 50 years prior would not be allowed to sit at the same lunch counter as his fellow white patrons is now the President of the United States.
However, judging by some of the new and persisting wounds that exist in America – such as the shooting at the DC Holocaust Museum, the murder of abortion doctor George Tiller, and the fact that the victims of Katrina are are virtually broke, basically homeless and are receiving no help from the higher powers in our country, we certainly have some more work to do truly show that Americans are united in a desire for change and healing.
