According to the Smithsonian Institution, “Juneteenth marks our country’s second independence day.” On this day in 1865, some two thousand Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas, where they announced that the more than two hundred and fifty thousand enslaved black people in the state were free by executive decree. The day became known as “Juneteenth” by the newly freed people in Texas and eventually became a federal holiday.
I once had the privilege of chatting with a thoughtful and creative young African American man. He was raised in a Christian home, but a friend exposed him to arguments that denounced Christianity as the means by which slavers of old and modern racists justified policies that hurt African Americans. The young man came to view Christianity as the inherently racist “white man’s religion.” He eventually gave up his belief in God altogether.
The young man brought up his accusation that the Bible is inherently racist. Politely yet passionately, he started with Old Testament passages that he believed condoned slavery and ended with his claim that in the New Testament, neither Jesus nor the apostle Paul condemned the practice. The young man believed all religious beliefs fostered the kind of tribalism that pits people groups against each other and inevitably results in racial prejudice. With all of that, he had enough to disqualify Christianity as a racist, sexist, white man’s religion.
Gospel singer Kirk Franklin and worship group Maverick City Music delivered a musical performance on Monday's broadcast of ABC's The View to celebrate Juneteenth.
Dr. Ben Carson said in an appearance on "Sunday Night in America with Trey Gowdy" on Fox News that "so much progress has been made" since the day enslaved people learned of the Emancipation Proclamation, which ended slavery.
Tomorrow, however, offers us an opportunity to come out of our ideological and political corners and agree to commemorate a significant day in American history. Every American, regardless of politics or background, should reflect on a day marked in many African American communities for over 150 years. Tomorrow, June 19th, is Juneteenth, the anniversary of the day in 1865 in which the particularly vicious evil of chattel slavery effectively came to an end in this country.
On Wednesday, Congress passed a bill seeking to make Juneteenth a federal holiday.
Faith leaders and churches are preparing for historic Juneteenth celebrations this year as the holiday comes in the midst of a movement calling for racial equality.
On this day in 1865, US Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, where he announced that the Civil War was over and that the 250,000 slaves of Texas were free.
No matter the issue, from public policy to personal morality to global health, people seem to immediately run to their ideological and political corners. No discussion, little charity, less concern about the requirements of a common life together. A lot of yelling. It’s difficult to imagine a people less able to accomplish a life together than us, with no shared vision and no shared memory.
