Reconnection Day: Sharpening the Focus of Juneteenth
BY NJEMILE Z. ALI
At first, the naming of Juneteenth as a national holiday felt like an invasion of privacy, and a disingenuous reaction to the murder of George Floyd.
I’m reminded of an experience I had at the bank on the Friday before the first national Juneteenth holiday. While there, the customer service person, a White woman, explained that the bank would be closed the following Monday. “Why?” I wanted to know.
“For Juneteenth,” she replied.
“Oh.” Awkward moment.
In truth, I was annoyed. First of all, how come, whenever I really need to do business with the bank in person—which I avoid like the PLANdemic—it’s a national holiday? Secondly, of course, why is this Eurocentric individual reminding me that Juneteenth is coming up soon?
To be honest, I liked it better when Juneteenth was a boutique community recognition. In my limited Juneteenth experience, the day always felt like more of a collective “Shaking My Head” than a celebration. “What’s to celebrate?” I thought. “Deception? Extended degradation? Invisible shackles?” I appreciated the fact that the community that originated the recognition of Juneteenth took it upon themselves to observe a community milestone, without needing to be aided, abetted and commercialized by the government and larger society.
Then I learned about Opal Lee, the heroine and star of efforts by grassroots folks nationwide who worked for decades to make Juneteenth a national holiday. When the Juneteenth bill was signed into law in 2021, Mrs. Lee was 94 years old, having made it part of her life’s work to educate the community about the history and significance of the day, and give it the recognition she felt it deserved
At 89, Opal Lee leaned heavily into her long campaign for the Juneteenth national holiday, embarking upon a walk to Washington, DC from her home in Fort Worth, Texas. Calling herself “just a little old lady in tennis shoes getting in everybody’s business” (AP), she also organized walks in a number of cities along the way.
Opal Lee’s work for the Juneteenth holiday is only the tip of the iceberg of her social activism.
A retired school teacher and counselor, her list of organizing creds includes:
Annual 2.5 mile walks to campaign for the Juneteenth holiday
Co-founding the Tarrant County Black Historical and Genealogical Society
Co-organizing the Fort Worth Annual Juneteenth celebration
Organizing annual bus tours, ensuring that local politicians clearly saw the conditions in economically depressed areas of the city
Membership on local boards to impact the lives of the Black community, including: Transform 1012 N. Main St (into the Fred Rouse Center and Museum for the Arts & Community Healing; the local food bank; the Fort Worth-Tarrant County Community Action Agency; the Evans Avenue Business Association; Tarrant County Habitat for Humanity; Citizens Concerned with Human Dignity and Unity Unlimited, Inc., among others.
I can’t stay mad at a national Juneteenth holiday in the face of the lifelong dedication of people like Mrs. Opal Lee. When she was 12 years old, her family escaped an attack by a White mob that smashed windows and furniture in their new home to keep the family from moving into the all-White neighborhood. Ironically, the attack took place on Juneteenth in 1939, no doubt igniting an extinguishable fire of determination in Lee to make life better for her community.
I salute Mrs. Lee and people like her, who keep the fires of freedom burning, and create opportunities for us to pause and reflect on how best to build upon our hard-won victories. The Union army finally closed out the Civil War in Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865. In truth, the victory was very much moved forward by the continuous resistance of enslaved and free Black people throughout the country, as well as their effective participation in the war effort.
This Juneteenth—Reconnection Day—let’s reconnect with the thousands of warriors, activists, thinkers, inventors, creatives and just plain great parents who have kept us pushing forward over the past 400 years of trials. We have proven our strength, stamina and courage, and continue to prove it every day. New horizons of freedom will find us surpassing our ancestors, the builders of the Sphinx, pyramids and other marvels around the world. It is well within our capacity—and our destiny—to regain our place at the zenith of civilized society. Soon come, y’all. Because that’s who we are.