happy (keep fighting for) freedom day

a week and two days ago today I was in Pine Bluff, Arkansas celebrating Juneteenth with my parents. This was not the first year I had heard about why this day was special but this is the first time I took part in any sort of celebration. I can’t help but feel like this year offered a notable experience to anyone who decided to take part in cherishing this day as one worth commemoration. On this day, in 2020, I was able to acknowledge and honor what liberation the black community has experienced while fully accepting the fight for more freedom that awaits any of us who desire equity amongst all races.

This fight for freedom has never been more tangible, for me personally. With current events taking place all over the nation it has become so evident that racism is real and it is just as personal as it is systemic. It’s clear that there is an oppressed people who deserve so much more freedom than what they’ve been granted, and this is a cause worth fighting for.

We look at history and see the progress in the efforts toward turning the black community from an oppressed people to a free people. If you don’t stop there and keep looking, you can see where the freedom that’s been offered has come with limitations. These limitations are experienced as a battle (which many have lost their lives in) ahead of every black person in America.

Because of the amount of freedom that I have experienced compared to my ancestors I can confidently say that I would settle in my grave quicker than settling as someone’s slave. A colored person has not always been able to side with that.

Though we are in the midst of what seems like an endless fight for necessary freedom let’s remember we are simultaneously writing our freedom song. I have a voice and each day I have the opportunity to use it, and same for you. That is something we must take pride in today & everyday. That is how we fight.

So, as I say “happy freedom day” know that I’m also declaring the fact that if you can celebrate this freedom you can also fight for more of it. Let’s get to work.