It was a Juneteenth conversation, one year ago, between Boston Globe editorial page editor Bina Venkataraman and Ibram X. Kendi, director of the Center for Antiracist Research at Boston University, which served as the seed for what would grow into The Emancipator.
So it's particularly fitting that in this issue of Unbound, we look at how far we've come, the work that remains unfinished, and what Juneteenth means in Boston and beyond.
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“[H]owever effectual may be the President’s Emancipation Proclamation in breaking the chains of the bondmen in such rebellious sections of the country as he has just designated — and Heaven grant that it may be as potent in operation as it is comprehensive in its scope; nevertheless, nothing at this hour is settled so surely as the continued enslavement of four millions of the inhabitants of the land.”
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That passage appeared in the Jan. 9, 1863 issue of the Liberator, the abolitionist newspaper published in Boston by William Lloyd Garrison. The passage came in an announcement of an upcoming meeting of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society, underscoring the work that still lay ahead in the fight to end slavery for all, even after President Lincoln’s edict.
The words were prescient. Even though reports of the Emancipation Proclamation were widely disseminated across the country after it was issued on Jan. 1, 1863 — including in more than 100 newspapers in Texas — it took until until June 19, 1865 for the news and the full effect of the order to reach Galveston, Texas. That’s when Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger, leading the Union army into Texas, read General Orders, No. 3, proclaiming that “all slaves are free.”
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General Orders, No. 3. US House, 54th Congress, 1st Session (H. Doc. 369, Part 2). “General Order Number 3,” 1896. US Documents Collection. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
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The notion of freedom that has yet to be fully realized still resonates as we celebrate the Juneteenth holiday this year. Even as Juneteenth became a federal holiday, as my Globe Opinion colleague Renée Graham writes, efforts in a number of states to whitewash history in the name of “patriotic education” and ban curricula that lay bare the truth about the enduring legacy of slavery in America lest we fail to learn its brutal lessons, shows just how much work remains.
And, as Jemar Tisby, deputy director of narrative and advocacy at the Center for Antiracist Research at Boston University writes, there is always a danger of unintended consequences when a holiday for and about Black freedom goes mainstream.
But Juneteenth is also a time of celebration and community. As my colleague Jeneé Osterheldt writes of Juneteenth and Black liberation in Boston as part of her Beautiful Resistance series: “Black liberation is a destination not yet reached, but we celebrate the freedoms we have in our joy, in our dreams, in the little ways of everyday living as we fight for true equity and full emancipation.”
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So as we head into a weekend that will be marked by celebrations, community gatherings, pageants, and crimson-colored food and drink, here are some ideas of what you can do, read, and listen to for your Juneteenth commemoration:
• If you still need to fill your summer reading list, Clint Smith’s “How the Word is Passed” is a gripping examination of how our nation’s history was shaped by and still reverberates from its history of slavery. I am currently devouring the audiobook version, where Smith’s personal narration adds to its resonance.
• The latest episode of Kendi’s podcast, “Be Antiracist”, celebrates the holiday with a Juneteenth Mixtape, complete with thoughts from leading voices, including Emancipator advisory board members Annette Gordon-Reed and Heather McGhee, on what the day means to them and for the Black community. It’s a perfect listen to start the weekend.
• And please check out the Boston Globe Juneteenth Film Festival. On Monday afternoon, I will moderate a discussion for the virtual screening of the film “Harriet.” I will be joined by costume designer Paul Tazewell and MIT's Malia Lazu. To register to join us, click here.
Until next time.
Kimberly Atkins Stohr is a senior opinion writer for the Boston Globe.
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