06/20/2026
As a Black woman with deep Delta roots, I carry the stories of people who worked, prayed, built, endured, and believed in freedom before they ever got to fully experience it. My family’s journey from the cotton fields of Arkansas to classrooms, technology, public service, and community leadership reminds me that progress is never accidental. It is built by people who refuse to give up on the promise of tomorrow.
Juneteenth is a Black freedom story. We should say that plainly and proudly.
But its meaning belongs to all of us.
Because when freedom is delayed for some, justice is weakened for everyone. When opportunity is blocked for some, our whole community falls short of what it could become. And when we tell the truth about our history, we give our children the tools to build a stronger, fairer future.
