This Saturday, June 19th, is Juneteenth, a holiday commemorating the day in 1865 in Galveston, Texas, when the last enslaved people were freed, a whole two and a half years after Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. While Juneteenth has been celebrated by Black Americans since 1866, many in this country, especially White folks, had never heard of it until last year. In the midst of what some referred to as a racial reckoning, suddenly numerous businesses and organizations declared a company holiday for Juneteenth and issued statements about racial justice with extremely mixed progress on these promises a year later.
For me, Juneteenth is an opportunity to celebrate the tremendous resilience of Black Americans throughout this country’s history; to honestly examine the devastating impacts of systemic racism and racial violence in our country and take action to counteract them; and to recommit to a vision of justice and collective liberation.
It is also an opportunity to take responsibility for where I need to do better as a practitioner. In February 2019, I facilitated a conflict resolution workshop where I was asked how to use a specific conflict resolution tool in cases where there are serious power imbalances. I fumbled over an answer, trying to acknowledge this real problem in the tool but unable to offer any sufficient answer to the question. Reviewing evaluations after the workshop, one participant (probably the one who’d asked the question) offered very straight-forward feedback: my response (or lack thereof) was not okay and I should not be offering any tool or framework without incorporating an analysis of power and oppression. I vacillated between spiraling shame at my deficiency and reassuring myself that it wasn’t that bad and I would figure out a way to fix this over time. Neither were what I wish I’d done, which is revisit all my content and materials to ensure that they are actually inclusive, confront and correct the ways I perpetuate harm through white supremacy culture in me, and check whether my practice is truly aligned with racial equity and justice.
I am disappointed that it took me so long to do what should have been a priority from the start. After only minor efforts here and there, I am finally putting real investment and resources into these needed changes. I have done a significant overhaul of my workshop curricula, including new information and approaches, updated language and images in my slides, and activities that integrate a wider variety of ways of learning and knowing. I’ve also joined the Inclusive ReDesign Collective, a digital membership community organized by instructional designer and facilitator Nina Everflow. It provides content and course creators mutual support and accountability as we nurture diverse learning communities and improve our racial justice advocacy. I know this work will require constant attention and recommitment. I know there will be many more moments, like receiving that clear and incisive feedback, that call on me to do better.
In addition to these steps, this Juneteenth I’ll be participating in Stop Police Terror Project DC’s prison letter writing, donating to One DC’s newly renovated Black Workers & Wellness Center, and attending Nina’s community circle to “center stories of Black Healing, Black Joy and Black Rest” and “reflect on the privileges each of us has in widening our truth-telling of the past and imagining the beloved community of the future.”
Whatever you choose to do, I hope you find meaningful ways to celebrate this day and take action that brings us closer to our collective liberation. Happy Juneteenth.
Celebrating Juneteenth