This Fourth of July 2025, commemorates the 249th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America. While this is supposed to be a time of celebration and cheer for this “perfect union”, the dismantling of programs and livelihoods of the common man and woman will have everyone seeing red, crying white tears, and singing the blues.
Last month, with another Juneteenth holiday behind us, it’s still not a day that’s programmed into my mind as a time for celebration, let alone having the day off as a federally recognized holiday. And for many Black people, this is our real Independence Day; two and half years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation.
Our history, Black history, is our American history.
As a Black man, I’m really embarrassed to say that Juneteenth has never been a part of my life. In fact, up until a few years prior to the day becoming a holiday, I didn’t even know that it existed. I can practically hear the gasps from some readers from my admission. Yes, it is sad. The truth is, this historic event wasn’t taught in my schools (K – 12) when I was growing up. It also wasn’t anything that my family or relatives celebrated at home either. So for the bulk of my life, the only thing that I had learned and knew about the end of slavery, was President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863. Yet, Black communities have recognized Juneteenth since its beginning in 1865. It feels like there’s a void of information that has been omitted from my cultural education.
In 2021, when Juneteenth officially became an official holiday, I’ve remained curious about other bits of Black history that have been unknown to me.
Not too long ago, I was rewatching the movie Hidden Figures. The movie featured three Black female mathematicians / engineers (Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson) and highlighted their contributions to NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), getting astronaut John Glenn into orbit, and launching the country into the space race. I had seen it years ago in the movie theater but this time I was really watching it for my own leisure and in the comfort of my own home. I noticed one of the locations in the film that was familiar to me, Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Virginia. I’ve previously written about being a military brat in my younger years and during the early 70s, my step-father was briefly stationed there. In Hampton, there was also an aerospace park with military jets and booster rockets on display. I think there was also a full scale Saturn 5 rocket there too. At that time, I never realized the correlation of where I was living and the space program.
At least now, in some high schools and colleges, there is a curriculum dedicated to Black History (studies). There are so many things that Black people have contributed to with regards to our history that I, and maybe others too, have taken for granted. I remember as a little boy, I would play with a set of plastic cowboy figurines and watch old black and white western movies on television and mimic what I saw. None of these cowboys were Black, though in reality roughly 20% – 25% (1 in 4) actually were. Bass Reeves was a Black success story from the start. Born into slavery in 1838, at the age of 23 Reeves escaped to Native American territory before ending up in Oklahoma. He was a U.S. Deputy Marshal that became legendary for the number of kills and captures during his 32 years of service.
In a more modern day context, our traffic signals were designed by a Black man, Garret Morgan. Those of us of a certain age owe (Dr.) Shirley Jackson a debt of gratitude for her inventions that contribute telephonic advances. In other words, when telephones went from rotary to touch tone, it was the beginning of the fiber optic generation thanks to her. Jackson was also the first Black woman to earn her PhD in nuclear physics at MIT. When my family replaced our now outdated rotary phone with a new touch-tone model, I was happy to no longer get my fingers stuck in the rotary dial anymore.
Knowledge is power. This phrase has been said by numerous academics, politicians, and theologians over the course of history. Information is key for people (children) to learn and for cultures to thrive. Knowledge can also plant the seeds of change and inspire innovation. For me, I feel like if I had had more knowledge about our Black history, it could have instilled more pride within myself and my amazingly diverse community. At times in my life, I’ve felt out of place within my own culture because of the lack of connection with others that looked like me. Because of my interests, my mannerisms, my voice, and my lack of “community knowledge” I have been labeled as “Whitewashed”. To those who may not be familiar with the term, it simply means a person of color is “White-acting” based on their behavior and habits. Believe it or not, I’ve also been told that I don’t sound Black; usually by a White person. Some “people” will say the damdest things. My general response when I do hear things like this is simple, “I’m Black and therefore it is what this Black man sounds like.”
We as Black people have had to literally fight for the basic right to exist and many of our contributions to society have gone unnoticed or ignored. So when I hear about the removal of our cultural contributions from federal websites, Black murals, and the cancellation of diversity-related programs, it’s disheartening and enrages me. For all the things that Black people (and other marginalized folks too) have done and had to do to gain recognition and honor, only to have those accolades scrubbed from the public media is cultural erasure right before our very eyes. Why anyone would think that this is completely acceptable in terms of creating unity and community of people, is someone that is disconnected from humanity.
I’m not naive. I’ve been around this floating rock for more than a minute observing the battle to make Black lives matter. I’m just saddened that we have arrived at this point in our lives and history. These changes surely can’t all stem from the idea that people are fed up with addressing diversity. Somehow, the very idea of being “woke”, an awakening, is perceived as a threat to the “American” way of life? If anything, the awakening really shines a light on the inequities certain segments of the population have had to endure to survive.
Lack of creditable information and education of history can further increase the racial divide and the further stupification of Americans. An America where those who hold power over others are afforded access, knowledge, and education, disseminating resources only to the willing who pledge their loyalty. An America, whereby elite shepherds rule over a population of mindless sheep that will accept a banquet of wild cherry and rhubarb leaves after being told that it’s good for you.
History has always been a tool for learning, and it also creates an opportunity for everyone to move forward in the future. More importantly, history can provide warnings for us so that we don’t repeat the same mistakes of the past; if we choose to pay attention and listen.
Judge Don't Judge...Much 