Why We Should Post About Juneteenth After Juneteenth

On June 20th in America for the first time since they arrived in this territory, millions of Black people who had been enslaved before they were conceived woke up knowing that they were free. Now realistically, it tooks years before every Black person knew they were legally free, and lifetimes before they would “feel” free. Some of these people included my direct relatives.

On that Juneteenth, while some Black people learned they were free - and had been “free” -

Juneteenth gives us the opportunity to address the disparity between “being” free and “feeling” free. We can think of our ancestors who toiled in a system of racial capitalism for two more years than they were legally obligated were technically free, but there were no context clues to indicate their freedom. Furthermore, even after they were declared free, they were still bonded to a citizenship that made liberty contingent upon identity.

In order to truly understand liberty, we need to step beyond the dictionary definition to the social/political definition of liberty. The liberty our founding fathers were fighting for was not solely a feeling/sentiment, but a human right to be able to accumulate capital, and seek prosperity. Enslaved persons’ liberty was not only a constriction of movement in space, but a restriction from any form of self-empowerment. Enslaved persons were not able to read; to earn money (with exception of ironworkers and artisans who were given “permission” to contract their services); and the limitations on their voting rights ensured that they would not have the means to overturn this dejuro racist system. When we celebrate Juneteenth, we celebrate Black people that in the system of enslavement were a commodity, having the liberty to be more than inventory; to own; to gain education; to build; to have self-determination. When we honor Juneteenth by supporting Black businesses - despite the complexity of the commodification of our experience - it is because Black people’s enslavement was also a direct repression of their ability to create a better life for themselves out of the superstructure of the slave economy.

In addition to celebrating Juneteenth through our purchases, we can also celebrate through our Books. As such, I would like to highlight some of the awesome titles from the Soccer Athletes Value Education (SAVE) initiative.

As a communications coordinator it is technically my job to post on holidays like Juneteenth; but before I was a communications coordinator, I was a researcher on Black life, identity, and experiences. My research was informed by people’s experiences — including my own. One such pivotal experience was a trip to Ghana during my Junior year at Smith College. With our current education system today, it is possible to imagine (maybe) how violent it is to keep people in a system of American slavery for two years longer than they needed. You might imagine the people that were brutalized, and in an advanced class, you might have some insight into the physical and sexual brutality that persisted through those two years. But until you go to the slave castles in Ghana - where people were processed like livestock in dungeons on the gold coast in anticipation of their trips through the “Door of No Return”, you could never fathom how violent it is to extract 2 years of additional *skilled* labor and trauma from my people.

It was 2 years in the United States of America, but it was decades across the diaspora. Countries throughout the Caribbean and South America were notorious for their brutal approaches to slavery. Some may know that the study of disciplining enslaved persons was prolific throughout the world and as such, the conditions of enslavement (and torture) varied across countries. Scholars of slavery even note how some conditions in the Caribbean were even more brutal than the United States, or through comparison noted different ways that they were constricted.

Many don’t know about the realities of enslavement prior to Juneteenth in America, or afterwards in other places we now define as the African Diaspora, because of our education system. In addition to a litany of books, our staff at Kensington Soccer Club is comprised of current and former educators. There is such urgency around the holiday now - not just for marketing purposes - but because there are people living today that were never taught Juneteenth in our schools. Even though people post about it on social media, teachers don’t have the same ease with incorporating Juneteenth content into their lesson plans. From ages K-Adult teachers and scholars across the country are embroiled in battles over “Critical Race Theory”.

Considering how long my people waited to be informed that they were free, I believe we should take our time throughout the year before, during, and after Juneteenth, to learn about and commemorate this holiday. I may not be able to speak for our school systems, but I can speak for KSC: we have books, and educators who would love to answer any of your questions.

Reach out to us to learn more.