Juneteenth: More Than a Holiday, A Call to Remember and Act

By: Dr. Kirkpatrick Williams

Juneteenth, celebrated each year on June 19, is often misunderstood as simply the day slavery ended in the United States. In truth, it marks a much more complex, and profoundly important, moment in American history; the day in 1865 when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to announce the freedom of more than 250,000 enslaved Black people, two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation had technically abolished slavery.

That delay wasn’t just a bureaucratic fluke; it was a symptom of a larger truth. Freedom, for Black Americans, has rarely arrived on time. And Juneteenth matters because it reminds us not only of emancipation but of the long, uneven, and unfinished road to justice.

Juneteenth is important because it tells the truth about how history unfolds, not neatly, not universally, and not without resistance. It exposes the gap between law and lived reality, between ideals and implementation. When President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, it did not immediately free all enslaved people. That reality required armies, time, and a reckoning with the deep roots of racial injustice.

Too often, American memory centers July 4th as the singular moment of national freedom, overlooking the millions who remained in bondage long after the Declaration of Independence was signed. Juneteenth adds critical texture to that narrative, it centers the experiences of those who were denied freedom, yet persisted in their humanity and hope. Juneteenth was never meant to replace Independence Day; it was meant to stand alongside Independence Day to commemorate a state of comprehensive independence.

In 2021, Juneteenth became a federal holiday, a long-overdue recognition of its cultural and historical significance. But honoring Juneteenth must go beyond symbolic gestures. It is not a commercial opportunity or a generic celebration of “freedom.” It is a sacred space for remembering the trauma of slavery, honoring the resilience of the Black community, and reflecting on the continued struggle for equity in education, housing, healthcare, voting rights, and criminal justice.

Juneteenth is also a chance for all Americans, regardless of race, to reckon with the past honestly and to take responsibility for shaping a more just future. It asks difficult questions: How do we confront the systems that still perpetuate racial disparities? What does real liberation look like today? Are we willing to move from performative acknowledgment to transformative change?

In classrooms, in workplaces, in places of worship and government, Juneteenth should be observed with the gravity it deserves. Teach the history. Acknowledge the pain. Celebrate the survival and cultural brilliance of Black Americans. And commit, not just once a year, but every day, to the work of liberation still ahead.

Juneteenth is not just a Black holiday. It is an American story. And until we tell that story fully, until freedom is not delayed or partial or selective, the promise of Juneteenth remains incomplete. We have the opportunity to reckon for our past but we must realized that it existed rather than gloss it over. Wounds heal properly when they are addressed. When they are not properly addressed, they continue to fester.

Let this day be not just a celebration, but a charge. A call to order to be different, be better and acknowledge each other.