bruorton

So I was reading this concise and educational article on Juneteenth today, a day that celebrates the final emancipation of the last US slaves -- exactly 150 years ago today, as it happens. But of course this anniversary, a momentous one in any event, is weighed down by an act of racist terrorism committed on its eve, and committed in a church that is a landmark in the struggle for racial equality in our country. And towards the end of the article, I was caught off-guard by the mention thrown in of the attacker's "alleged interest in starting another civil war." But I shouldn't have been; I really shouldn't.

Because it is clear that in so many ways, the war has never ended.

And in that light, the analogy of Juneteenth as a version of Independence Day struck me further -- because it means celebrating a victory both achieved, and still aspired to. It reminds me of the way Jesus spoke about the Kingdom of God, actually: that it had arrived, and that it was still coming. Meaning it was something we could understand, hope for, celebrate, and above all -- spend our lives trying to make a reality in the midst of a broken and bleeding world.

So it seems to me that Juneteenth should be a holiday we all observe, with an attitude of joy, reverence, anger, and stubborn hope that is probably impossible for us to associate with the 4th of July -- because this is a victory not yet won. Even if we personally are not on the front lines, we observe it in a war zone, fought in the land of the free.

"We are all created equal" are still fighting words.