HeadToHead Juneteenth—Is Just A Start
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igh props go to 94-year-old Not Jumping this legislation, just as he gets credOpal Lee, the Texas woman it for going to Tulsa at the hunfor determined to make Juneteenth dredth commemoration of the Juneteenth a national holiday. destruction of Black Wall Street. Thanks to her efforts and those of others While both these things are primarily like Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee symbolic, these are symbolic gestures that (D-Texas) and Senator Cory Booker (D- he did not have to make. If Biden doesn’t NJ), Juneteenth is now a federal holiday, “get” race and racism (and honestly, what the eleventh national holiday, and the first white person does), he’s spent enough time since Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday with Senior Advisor Cedric Richmond and was made a holiday. For federal employ- Vice President ees, it means a paid day off work. Some Kamala Harris to private employers will also make communicate his Juneteenth a paid day off. I chuckle at the affinity for Black peoirony of Klan members getting a paid day ple and his commitoff work to commemorate Juneteenth. ment to some Perhaps that will help them with the con- progress. It’s up to us, cept that the South lost the Civil War! now, to push him on While I am buoyed by the new holiday, what needs to happen Julienne Malveaux I’m not jumping for joy nor dancing in the next. street. The Senate passed the holiday legWe aren’t likely to get the John Lewis islation unanimously. How come they can’t Voting Rights Act passed unless the filido the same for the George Floyd bill or buster is eliminated. Still, President Biden voting rights. While the Juneteenth holi- has shillyshallied about getting rid of the day is impactful, the ease with which it got filibuster, and West Virginia’s DINO Senate passage ought to give us all pause. (Democrat in Name Only) Senator Joe It is easier to support a holiday than to Manchin is no help. He says he values support the principle of democracy, which bipartisanship, but he seems to appreciate is allegedly at the foundation of our democ- nothing more than the attention he gets by racy. It is easier to support a holiday than “negotiating” with recalcitrant to abolish the use of the chokehold. It is Republicans who love the former president easier to support a holiday than to support more than they value justice. Sure, they SB 40, the Senate’s reparations bill. voted unanimously to make Juneteenth a Juneteenth reminds me of justice and federal holiday. Still, several in Congress equality denied. Those Galveston enslaved voted against it, and several others voted people didn’t find out they were free until to withhold the Congressional Medal of nearly two and a half years after President Honor from the capitol police officers who Lincoln signed the Emancipation bravely defended them on January 6. Proclamation. Their exploiters were the Some of them still adhere to the big lie beneficiaries of thousands of hours of free that the previous won the election. But labor. They intended to game the system they voted to make Juneteenth a holiday. and exploit Black people for as long as they I’m not jumping. could. Fast forward. The exploiters are Juneteenth represents more than symstill gaming the system with prison labor, bolic progress, though. While most of substandard wages, and other forms of white America had never heard of economic injustice. It will take something Juneteenth, now they have. They now more than a holiday to right those wrongs. have the opportunity to reflect on our If Juneteenth goes the same way other nation’s history in ways they haven’t American “holidays” do, it will be commer- reflected on it before. Annually, there will cialized. Consider Dr. King’s birthday and be a flurry of newspaper articles and telethe sales that holiday motivates. I cringe vision specials focusing on Juneteenth. to think what might be sold to commemo- The ignorant can change the channel or rate Juneteenth, but capitalism is the flip the pages of their newspapers, but mother of exploitation, so I’m sure the evil- commemorating Juneteenth begins the ly creative will come up with something. process of fully embracing our flawed hisNo, I’m not jumping for Juneteenth. tory. President Biden gets credit for signing Julianne Malveaux continued to page 20
Headlines From Africa
Botswana: Government officials have announced that the discovery of 1,098-carat diamond is believed to be the third largest diamond mined in history. Cameroon: The U.S. is calling for both the Cameroon government and separatist armed groups to end the ongoing conflict and to engage in dialogue without preconditions. It is urging all relevant stakeholders in Cameroon and in the diaspora to engage constructively and seek a peaceful resolution to fighting. The U.S has also imposed visa restrictions on those believed to be responsible for, or complicit in undermining the peaceful resolution of the crisis.
L.A. Focus/July 2021
Central African Republic: Fighting against forces loyal to the government has sparked a humanitarian crisis with 57 percent of the population in need of assistance. The looting and militarization of civilian infrastructure, such as schools and hospitals, have hindered already inadequate access to basic services and undermine the protection of civilians and assistance. Ethiopia: Late last month, Ethiopia declared a unilateral cease-fire in the Tigray region which has been the site of deadly clashes and has withdrawn troops as Tigrayan forces seize the regional capital. Thousands have been displaced and at least 300,0000 face famine. Ivory Coast: Former rebel leader and Prime Minister Guillaume Soro has been sentenced to life imprisonment in absentia on charges he plotted a coup against President Alassane Ouattara in 2019. Ghana: Ghana aimed to plant at least five million trees in a single day to help regrow the country’s lost forests and curb the impacts of climate change. Over 7 million seedlings were distributed to parks, schools and businesses as planting kits were handed out at malls in major cities with participants able to choose from fruit, crop or ornamental trees.
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he good news is that delayed if not denied. When Juneteenth Juneteenth is a federal holPresident Abraham Lincoln enactfederal holiday iday. The bad news is that ed his Emancipation Proclamation is a start, but Black people still need that on New Year’s Day in 1863, that Black America freedom, which a June 19 celebradid not impact the millions who isn’t free tion fails to provide. And while we were enslaved by the Confederacy. should not trivialize the symbolism of a Even when the Civil War ended in April federal Juneteenth holiday, it is no substi- 1865 after secessionist General Robert E. tute for federal legislation that would help Lee surrendered to the Union Army, Black make Black people truly free. people were enslaved for another two In what can only months. It was not until June 19 when be described as an Union Major-General Gordon Granger unexpected move in traveled to Galveston and notified the 2021, on the tail end of enslaved they were free. a historic pandemic, The Thirteenth, Fourteenth and President Joe Biden Fifteenth Amendments and the signed the law making Reconstruction-era civil rights laws also Juneteenth a national freed Black people, until Jim Crow wiped holiday. The legisla- them away. So, too, did the Civil Rights David A. Love tion passed the Senate and Voting Rights Acts a century later. unanimously, with all but 14 Republican Now, white supremacist lawmakers hope white men in Congress approving of the to enact a Jim Crow 2.0 and erase all Black new holiday. progress. And while Texan lawmakers Rep. The moral of the story is that none of us Sheila Jackson Lee, a Democrat, and Sen. are free, until we are all free. Whether John Cornyn, a Republican, made the back in 1865 or in 2021, when America Juneteenth holiday possible in a rare show tells Black people they have been emanciof bipartisanship, it is worth noting that pated, one must read the fine print. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott just signed a law Today, the police murder of George banning the teaching of critical race theo- Floyd and countless other Black souls, and ry. Texas is also one of the numerous white the attack on the U.S. Capitol have forced nationalist-led states pushing bills to sup- the nation to focus on systemic racism in press voting rights for Black people and policing and the criminal justice system, cement white minority rule for genera- the body politic, our institutions, and tions. everywhere in American society. In other words, they will give us Although Black people were supposedly Juneteenth, and hope we are not looking as emancipated and have lived in this country they ban any curriculum that teaches for over 400 years, we still live in a hostile Americans about the history of environment. The remnants of slavery are Juneteenth, and pass laws – 389 bills in in our laws, policies, practices, procedures 48 states – stripping Black Americans of and customs. Racism is systemic and institheir citizenship rights. tutional, not merely a few bad apples or a Juneteenth, which began in Texas, is small group of people doing harmful our Independence Day. Because on July 4, things. This is not simply a matter of a few 1776, Black people remained in a state of neo-Nazis or Proud Boys burning Black enslavement. Juneteenth is a day of cele- churches, but an issue of power and white bration and a day of commemoration, a day privilege, and the microaggressions Black to remember the ancestors and lost family people face in schools, in the workplace and members, a time to build ourselves up, daily life. reclaim our history and center ourselves The U.S. has not come to terms with its and our experiences. legacy of racism and white supremacy, Further, Juneteenth is a reminder that including a history of slavery and how it freedom has always been a precarious denies Black people of their humanity, digproposition for Black folks in America, nity and equality. filled with conditions and dashed hopes, Now is a perfect time to honor shifting goalposts, backsliding and lots of Juneteenth, and we need this. However, bloodshed. And justice has always been David A Love continued to page 20
A look at current news from the continent of Africa Kenya: Kenya is banking on the speedy administration of COVID-19 second doses to tame the virus spread amid surges in western parts of the country that have exerted strain on public health infrastructure. Liberia: The World Bank approved $40 million in funding to support and enable inclusive growth, development and reforms in Liberia, including economic and social inclusion. Nigeria: A militant group that nearly crippled Nigeria’s economy during the first term of President Muhammadu Buhari—cutting oil production to less than half—has once again set its sights on undermining the nation’s economy and targeting political actors believed to be collaborating with the government to sabotage the interest of the Niger Delta people. Rwanda: Rwanda plans to deploy troops to help Mozambique fight an insurgency that’s left more than 2,900 people dead and halted Africa’s biggest private investment. Senegal: Tensions were high in the capital city, Dakar, ahead of a vote on a controversial anti-terrorism law that the opposition fears would be used to ban protests and criminalize dissent and amid uncertainty over whether President Macky Sall will seek a controversial third term. South Africa: Despite South Africa’s embracing same-sex marriages for all and polygamy for men, a proposal by the South African government to legalize polyandry — the practice of a woman having more than one husband at the same time— has led to protests from conservatives. Zambia: The nation of Zambia mourned the passing of its founding president, Kenneth Kaunda, last month at the age of 97. Kaunda—who led the nation for 27 years—championed Africa’s struggles against apartheid and HIV. Zimbabwe: Vice President Constantino Chiwenga has announced that getting a COVID-19 vaccine will soon become mandatory in public markets such as Harare as the government intensifies its vaccination campaign.
