Happy Juneteenth, everyone! Just wanted to reflect a bit about this time in our history and what it means to me. For those who do not know, Juneteenth is a holiday celebrated on June 19 to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved people in the US. The holiday was first celebrated in Texas in the aftermath of the Civil War, where on that date in 1865 enslaved people were declared free under the terms of the 1862 Emancipation Proclamation. A century and a half later, people across the United States continue to celebrate the day, which is now a federal holiday.
Growing up, I never learned the Juneteenth story. It was not discussed in my history classes...ever. As I have become older, I realize history is what we choose to teach our children. Thankfully, my child is learning about Juneteenth in her classroom in Kindergarten, so I know times are changing but we still have a long way to go. Our history in this country is speckled with inequities that we continue to see every single day, particularly in our patients of color. And I myself, as a mother of a beautiful little Black girl in America, struggle with teaching her about the atrocities in our American history. But hiding these incidents in our history means continuing to silence the voices of many who experienced these events long ago, and still do today.
So, on this Juneteenth and going forward, I will use every opportunity to remind my colleagues, friends, and family about what it means to have a history of enslavement and the ramifications of that unfortunate history that continue to this day. I will do my best to demonstrate to my daughter what it means to have a voice and how to use it and to be thankful for our ancestors long ago who fought hard to see this day come to life.
Thanks for listening everyone and again, Happy Juneteenth!