06/19/2025
Today is Juneteenth.
A day that marks the delayed but monumental declaration of freedom for the last enslaved Black people in this country. But as I sit in reflection, my spirit is heavy….not just from the weight of our history, but from the fractures I see within our people today.
We’ve endured centuries of injustice… chains, lynchings, stolen land, broken families, and systemic oppression that still echoes. And yet, in the face of all that, we rose…some of us made it out of the hood, secured careers, launched businesses, and broke generational curses.
But somewhere along the way, too many of us forgot who we were before the titles, before the salary, before the accolades.
We now build walls where bridges should be..gated by social status, occupation, or “inner circles.” We turn our backs on those still in the struggle, forgetting we were once in their shoes..or that someone once reached back for us.
We can’t truly honor Juneteenth if we ignore those who are still fighting for freedom in different forms—freedom from poverty, trauma, violence, neglect, and rejection. We owe it to every ancestor who bled for Black justice…not just in the 1800s, but in every decade since..to do better by one another.
Freedom means nothing if we’re not free together.
Solidarity means nothing if it’s only seasonal.
And remembrance means nothing if it doesn’t guide how we treat our people today.
Let Juneteenth be more than a day off. Let it be a wake-up call.
