5 ways you can meaningfully celebrate Juneteenth

Juneteenth carries some extra weight this year. 

The annual holiday, celebrated on June 19, marks the day in 1865 when Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, with Union troops and the news that the state’s enslaved people had been declared free by federal orders. 

Though communities have celebrated it for more than a century, Juneteenth is not yet recognized as a federal holiday. Some states, like Texas, recognize it as a state holiday, while more and more private companies, like Twitter and Spotify, are making Juneteenth a paid company holiday.

Of course, if your state or company doesn’t recognize Juneteenth, that doesn’t mean you can’t find ways to commemorate it even while social distancing.

This Juneteenth there is, of course, added focus across the country on racial injustice and anti-Blackness, thanks to the work of Black activists. If you’re looking to take part in Juneteenth festivities that also promote racial justice, you have plenty ways to take action.

We talked to Paris Hatcher, the director of Black Feminist Future, one of the Black-led organizations comprising the Movement for Black Lives (M4BL)  coalition, for ways to participate. Together, some of the organizations in the M4BL, such as Freedom, Inc. and chapters of Black Youth Project 100, are organizing actions on Juneteenth and the surrounding weekend. 

What follows are some ways you can get involved and amplify the goals of the M4BL this Juneteenth. 

1. Understand what the M4BL is demanding this Juneteenth 

Before taking any kind of action, Hatcher stresses that you should familiarize yourself with the priorities of the M4BL’s SixNineteen events. 

Currently, there are three demands for the upcoming protests on Juneteenth. First, the organizations behind the M4BL’s Juneteenth actions are calling for police forces to be defunded. (Defunding the police is action that occurs on a local level, within city budgets; you might research more about it and then consider contacting your city council.) 

Additionally, Hatcher notes the coalition is calling for an investment in Black communities, in response to decades of disinvestment and the disproportionate economic impact of COVID-19 on Black communities. 

Finally, Hatcher says M4BL is advocating for President Donald Trump’s resignation because of what she describes as a “long history of sexism, racism, and [his] horrible response to the COVID-19 pandemic.” 

Of course, understanding the focus of the M4BL is only the start. Hatcher suggests further educating yourself on these demands, which could start with a simple Google search. You might also look into putting together a reading list, starting with books like The End of Policing by Alex S. Vitale or The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander. 

2. Consider joining a protest or celebration 

“We see protest as celebration. This is our Freedom Day.”

On Juneteenth, Hatcher notes that the M4BL will be organizing a protest in Washington, D.C., in which “feeder protests” from organizations within the coalition will all converge, according to Hatcher. 

“We see protest as celebration,” Hatcher said of the Juneteenth protests this year. “This is our Freedom Day.” 

If you’re not in the D.C. area, there are plenty of other protests to take part in. Information about this and other actions can be found here. (Hatcher also recommends following the hashtag #SixNineteen to find local actions.) 

Additionally, she suggests connecting with local racial justice organizations to see if they have anything planned. 

While Hatcher recommends looking for a protest in your area before attempting to organize your own, she notes that if you’re trying to put something together yourself, you might consider alternative actions. She suggests organizing, for instance, a socially distant “teach-in,” where you gather with friends to learn about what defunding the police truly entails, or what organizers mean when they say “All Black Lives Matter.” 

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, she points out, we’ve all acquired new skills with respect to learning and connecting with each other, even though we’re physically distant. You can use some of them when thinking about what kinds of actions might work for you and your social circle, Hatcher says. Will you write emails to city council members about why communities are advocating for defunding the police? Will you organize an anti-racist reading group with your friends? 

We’ve all become unofficial experts on communicating through screens and while six feet away from others: Put those skills to use. 

3. Use protests and celebrations to educate yourself

If you’re unable or if it’s unsafe for you to attend an official protest or celebration, Hatcher notes that you can still follow along at home. 

Content from the main D.C. protest will be shared through the M4BL’s social channels, Hatcher notes. You can look out for useful posts there, for instance.

She suggests specifically looking out for information from the protests, such as recorded speeches, that  illuminate common questions emerging in current conversations, like how to center conversations about police violence on the needs and demands of Black feminists.

Consider tuning in, taking notes, and sharing them with your community. 

4. Get (more) involved in your community 

As anyone who has ever attended a protest can attest, it can be a cathartic, affirming, and invigorating experience, often crystalizing the reason you care about a given cause in the first place. That said, it shouldn’t mark the end of your action. 

Whether or not you choose to attend or tune into a Juneteenth protest, Hatcher recommends finding local organizations that you can support year-round (not just on Juneteenth) in order to carry your momentum throughout the year. 

For non-Black people of color and white allies specifically, Hatcher suggests turning to a group like  Rising Majority, a multiracial coalition affiliated with the M4BL that also brings other organizations together as one movement. You might start by looking into the organizations involved and seeing what they have going on in your area, Hatcher says. 

“A local organization is where you can really dig into different campaigns and be involved,” she says. 

If you do get involved with a local organization, she also notes that for allies in particular it can be an excellent space in which to practice the guiding principles behind the M4BL’s Juneteenth actions, including centering Black leadership, which entails listening to and supporting Black voices in activist spaces. 

5. Talk to those close to you 

Outside of direct action on Juneteenth, there’s still more you can do year-round. In fact, one of the most readily available options might also be the one that’s most conducive to lasting change in the world around you: Talking. 

Hatcher points out that having difficult and thought-provoking conversations with family members and loved ones is “one of the most important interventions we can have” when it comes to confronting the underlying thinking that perpetuates police violence, racial injustice, and anti-Blackness. 

She suggests, for instance, asking loved ones why they feel as if police are our only option. “Police are in our mind and hearts,” Hatcher notes, in the sense that it can be difficult for people to even imagine a system of law enforcement and community safety without automatically thinking of police. She explains that talking about this and continuing to envision alternatives is part of what makes other methods a possibility. 

Other conversations might start with your children, or could involve talking to a friend about effective allyship. If you’ve learned a history lesson lately, you could also use that as an entry point into a conversation with your parents, loved ones, or others in your community. 

This Juneteenth (and, you know, every single day of the year), it’s time to speak out. Opportunities abound, if you’re looking.