In a blog post, “Juneteenth, Freedom is a Work in Progress,” NAMI CEO Daniel H. Gillison, Jr. writes about the holiday “for celebration, education and reflection. It’s a time for us to learn about the continued impact of trauma caused by slavery, to recognize the strength and resilience of the Black community, and to consider what freedom, healing and leadership mean in the context of our nation’s complicated history of oppression.”
“Juneteenth is observed on the anniversary of June 19, 1865, when the news of the Emancipation Proclamation finally reached Texas (two and a half years late). While this day commemorates the end of slavery in the United States, it’s important to acknowledge that it was only the beginning of freedom. After all, many slave owners deliberately withheld the news of slaves’ emancipation until the completion of the following harvest season. And even afterward, former slaves remained in economic bondage through sharecropping well into the late 19th century; Jim Crow laws continued to regulate and restrict Black people’s freedom well into the early 20th century; and to this day, people of color continue to be exploited, dehumanized and disenfranchised through countless systemic injustices….”
“It’s a time for us to learn about the continued impact of trauma caused by slavery, to recognize the strength and resilience of the Black community, and to consider what freedom, healing and leadership mean in the context of our nation’s complicated history of oppression. Here at NAMI, we have begun the work to become a more just, equitable, diverse and inclusive organization…. And we are continuing to intentionally create culturally competent mental health resources for communities of color. But our work is far from over. The wounds of historical, generational racial trauma run deep. And while confronting trauma is never easy, the willingness to be vulnerable and honest about it is always the first step toward healing. Juneteenth is an opportunity for us as an organization, as individuals and as a country to do just that…. There is a saying in mental health: recovery is not linear. Healing is a work in progress. It turns out, freedom is too.” (Full blog post.)
This week, President Biden signed into law a bill to make the day a national holiday. In his remarks about the bill he said “great nations don’t ignore their most painful moments. Great nations don’t ignore their most painful moments. They don’t ignore those moments of the past. They embrace them. Great nations don’t walk away. We come to terms with the mistakes we made. And in remembering those moments, we begin to heal and grow stronger.”
Resources shared by NAMI:
- Celebrating Juneteenth – Learning for Justice
- Juneteenth World Wide Celebration
- Juneteenth | National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Ask the Expert: The Importance of Juneteenth – Each Mind Matters
- Juneteenth Fact Sheet – Congressional Research Service
- Northwest MHTTC June 2020 Newsletter #2 (thedatabank.com)
- Tool Kits & Education – BEAM
- What is Juneteenth? – Young Women Empowered
- Blackout Healing – Young Women Empowered
- Information & Resources for Black Mental Health – NAMI