![]() ![]() ![]() Juneteenth is a monumental holiday for Black Americans that is worthy of profound celebration. Although the 13th amendment is highly praised as ending slavery, the policy was a mere illusion as opposed to a definite victory. The 13th amendment, ratified in 1865, essentially abolished slavery, but also made it legal to exploit people as a punishment for a crime: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime.” In simpler terms, the language of the amendment legally allows incarcerated populations to provide daunting prison labor for wages less than a single dollar. Dismantling this system of oppression will take all of us However, although the initial stroking of a pen was effortless, a constitutional amendment needed to be passed in order to guarantee the abolishment of slavery. To think, with the simple signature of a pen and ink, thousands of enslaved Black people were instantly unshackled who had remained in servitude. On June 19, 1865, enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas, were finally made aware of their freedom under the Emancipation Proclamation, even though it was enacted in 1863 by Abraham Lincoln. A country where finally affirming the importance of Juneteenth, also known as Black Independence Day, has been long overdue. A country that went to war with a government that strangled it under a tyrannical English crown, is similar to a constant war that some Black people encounter daily as they leave their homes questioning if their lives will be taken at a moment’s notice. This blog post was written by Alton Coston, III, advocacy intern at the ACLU of Virginia.Īmerica - a country established on July 4, 1776, that prides itself of being a place where “all men are created equal,” yet inequities fostered from race, wealth and social status have festered in existence to this very day. ![]()
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