Today marks the 161th year for which Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, which provided freedom to all enslaved people on January 1, 1863 was fully enforced in Texas on June 19, 1865. Juneteenth is a celebration of survival, freedom, liberation, and acknowledgement that the horrific torture, trafficking, and abuse that Black folks endured in our country was not ended by any simple declaration or executive order of a President but by the enforcement of a military general aligned with the enforcement of the law to free oppressed peoples.
In recent years, Juneteenth is being perceived in multiple ways and through different political lenses, some of which dismiss Critical Race Theory and argue against valid storytelling of the history of Black oppression in the United States. Still, many grassroots organizations and de-colonized leaders in local communities have cultivated festivals and opportunities for learning and growth in regard to appreciating what Juneteenth celebrates and what we are encouraged to reflect on for community values and understanding of human rights when we center the languages and narrative views of the oppressed.
Darling Mental Health proudly stands with the Black Lives Matter movement, de-colonizing therapy and institutions of healing to respect indigenous wisdom and community focused healthcare, as well as advocating that none of us are truly free until all of us are free to live our lives authentically without fear of harm for being different. We hope everyone is able to take time and reflect on what Juneteenth means in a modern American culture and what work is still needed for us to properly center this holiday as the true moment in US history for which freedom for all began to be realized.
Worcester’s Juneteenth Festival Website
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