06/19/2025
Statement from the SEIU International Indigenous Peoples Caucus on Juneteenth,
June 19, 2025
Today, on Juneteenth, we join our Black siblings across the country in commemorating the liberation of enslaved African people in the United States. This day marks the delayed news of freedom finally reaching Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865; more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.
Juneteenth is a powerful reminder of how justice delayed is justice denied. It is also a day to reflect on the unfinished work of racial equity, representation, and liberation.
As the SEIU Indigenous Peoples Caucus, we uplift the histories and voices of Afro-Indigenous and Afro-Latino communities; our relatives who exist at the intersection of multiple identities, yet are too often erased or marginalized in both Black and Indigenous spaces. Juneteenth is not just a Black freedom struggle, it is a call to recognize the deep, interwoven roots of African and Indigenous resistance across the Americas.
We recognize the Afro-Indigenous peoples of the U.S., the Caribbean, Central and South America, those whose ancestors survived both the transatlantic slave trade and the attempted genocide of Indigenous nations. Afro-Indigenous and Afro-Latino workers, leaders, and community members are still fighting for visibility, equity in labor spaces, and recognition from tribal nations, governments, and institutions. According to a 2021 Pew Research Center study, nearly 25% of Latinos in the U.S. identify as Afro-Latino, yet few systems meaningfully include or count them.
In Nacimiento, Coahuila, Mexico, Afro-Mexicans, descendants of the Black Seminoles (or Mascogos) commemorate Juneteenth through a unique celebration known as El Día de los Negros. These Black Indigenous people were exiled from the U.S. and found refuge in Mexico in the 19th century. Each year, the community gathers with music, dance, and traditional food to honor their fight for freedom and their shared heritage. This celebration is one of the few Juneteenth commemorations held outside of the United States and underscores how Black freedom is a global Indigenous issue.
Today, we honor not only the past but also the living: Afro-Indigenous and Afro-Latino workers, caregivers, educators, organizers, and leaders in our unions and communities who are reclaiming their stories, demanding representation, and building power. We see you. We stand with you.
As a union, and as a caucus, we commit to advancing racial justice by:
• Demanding recognition of Afro-Indigenous identity in our union structures and racial equity initiatives.
• Including Afro-Latino voices in our Indigenous, Latinx, and Black caucuses and campaigns.
• Expanding labor organizing across borders to address anti-Blackness, colonialism, and economic exploitation that still persist.
• Fighting erasure wherever it appears—on job applications, in census data, or in policy.
Juneteenth reminds us: freedom is not given. It is fought for. Together, we will keep fighting.
In solidarity,SEIU Indigenous Peoples Caucus "Nothing about us, without us.”
✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿🪶
