An activist at Howard University in D.C. hopes that the recognition of Juneteenth as a federal holiday will require all people to recognize that the U.S. wrongfully enslaved people of African descent and prospered under the .
Congress approved a bill making Juneteenth a federal holiday Wednesday following a 415-14 vote by the House. President Joe Biden is expected to sign it.
Ravi Perry, chair of the political science department at Howard University, is not sure that the recognition of Juneteenth as a federal holiday is a “moment of celebration.”
鈥淭he holiday is certainly something to acknowledge; it鈥檚 not an insignificant step,” Perry said. 鈥淏ut it is important, I think, to recognize that not one Black person asked for a Juneteenth holiday.鈥�
Juneteenth marks the date 鈥� June 19, 1865 鈥� when all enslaved Black people in the U.S. learned they were free 鈥� more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued.
What people have requested of their government, Perry said, is that people of African descent be treated with equal protection under the law, as prescribed by .
鈥淲e have been struggling to apply the ideals of our democratic founding of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to everybody,鈥� Perry said.
Perry is an activist scholar specializing in Black politics, minority representation, LGBT politics, civil rights, social movements and urban politics.
More Juneteenth Coverage:
- Congress approves bill to make Juneteenth a federal holiday
- Federal government, Md., DC announce closures for Juneteenth
- Juneteenth 2021: DC region event, festival and exhibit guide
- DC nonprofits organize Juneteenth Day of Service event
- Juneteenth brings hope for equality, Harvard Univ. professor writes in new book
- Kennedy Center presents 鈥楤lack Women Breaking Ground鈥� concert on Juneteenth
He notes that some people who support the Juneteenth holiday also are against what鈥檚 being called critical race theory and ethnic studies in public education.
鈥淭o ensure that people in our schools learn the history of Juneteenth and the people who, of course, have been impacted via generations because of America鈥檚 original sin of slavery,鈥� Perry said.
defines critical race theory as an “intellectual movement and loosely organized framework of legal analysis based on the premise that race is not a natural, biologically grounded feature of physically distinct subgroups of human beings but a socially constructed (culturally invented) category that is used to oppress and exploit people of colour.”
Perry said he finds it ironic that the Senate unanimously passed a federal holiday no Black organizations requested, while so many senators do not support statehood for D.C. or what he calls the John Lewis Act or the For The People Act.
鈥淚f Juneteenth were a legitimately commemorated day to reflect on our country鈥檚 horrific slavery past, then we would see evidence in the behavior of legislators鈥� actions in Congress that support the naming of a symbolic federal holiday,鈥� Perry said.
He said the new federal holiday carries no substantive redress of wrongs for the millions of people it will now commemorate.
鈥淲e still have a Columbus Day holiday on the calendar, and Columbus was a fraud who did not discover America at all,鈥� Perry said, while noting that some states and persons of Indigenous descent have created opportunities for that day, instead, to honor Native Americans.
鈥淎nd that holiday hasn鈥檛 necessarily changed people鈥檚 attitudes about what they believe about the founding of the country,鈥� Perry said.
As a paid federal holiday, federal workers will get the day off on June 19, or the nearest Friday or Monday.
