Juneteenth: Stories, Myths, & a Living Legend (the “missing” Wednesday post, 10 minutes plus excerpts) June 19, 2024

Happy Juneteenth! Happy Pride! “Eid Mubarak, Blessed Festival!” to anyone celebrating Eid al-Adha. Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone celebrating the Afterfeast of the Ascension and/or working for more peace, freedom, and wisdom (inside and outside).

This is the “missing” post for Wednesday, June 19^th. It includes a couple of excerpts and some previously posted quotes. You can request an audio recording of this practice or a related practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.

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“Hello, young people!”

— Ms. Opal Lee, speaking during a Juneteenth concert on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, June 13, 2023.

NOTE: Ms. Lee recently clarified that “young people” is anyone under 97 years old.

Don’t take this the wrong way. But, I am once again going to ask what you were celebrating today (Wednesday) — if you were celebrating — and why you were celebrating (or not celebrating). When I ask a similar question on the Fourth of July, I’m being kind of being cheeky. Today, I’m asking because I was reminded over the last week or so that some people are still not clear about the history of Juneteenth and about why it is being celebrated as a federal holiday.

I could say it’s about freedom and emancipation. I could say it’s about the United States living up to its intentional idea(l)s. I could say it’s about any number of things — all of which are true… and most of which you will probably forget, even if I tell you a story.

But, if I tell you a story, there’s a good chance more of it will stick.

“‘People think it’s a Black thing when it’s not. It’s not a Texas thing. It’s not that,’ [Opal] Lee said. ‘Juneteenth means freedom and I mean for everybody!’”

— quoted from the CBS News story, “‘Grandmother of Juneteenth’ Opal Lee reflects on her journey to secure a national holiday” by Nikole Killion (dated June 15, 2022)

This year, as I celebrated this day of freedom and emancipation, I was thinking about stories (what Matthew Sanford calls “healing stories”), myths, and a living legend — all related to Juneteenth.

The living legend is Ms. Opal Lee (née Flake), who was finally able to move (back) into her childhood home this year. Born in Marshall, Texas, and known as the “Grandmother of Juneteenth,” the 2024 Presidential Medal of Freedom honoree was 10 years old when her family moved into a house in a predominantly white part Fort Worth. Two years later, a mob ran the family out and destroyed their home.

That hate-fueled violence happened on June 19, 1939, also known as Juneteenth 1939 — exactly 74 years after General Gordon Granger stood on the balcony of the Ashton Villa and read General Order No. 3, which stated:

“The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor. The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.”

— “General Order No. 3” read by General Gordon Granger in Galveston, Texas on June Nineteenth, 1865

“Juneteenth” is a portmanteau of June Nineteenth. Although some people still call it “Emancipation Day,” that moniker is also used on other dates (in other states) commemorating similar announcements. So, what makes June Nineteenth so special? As Galveston was the last part of the Confederacy to be officially notified, the announcement on June Nineteenth, 1865, meant that everyone was (theoretically) officially free.

CLICK ON THE TITLE BELOW FOR MORE ABOUT THE HISTORY OF EMANCIPATION.

Yes, We Say “Happy Juneteenth!”

While some folks have only recently started celebrating this day, Black Texans like me and Ms. Lee have been celebrating since we were kids. The fact that twelve year Opal Lee was traumatized on such on auspicious anniversary motivated her to live well, to be a teacher, and to engage in the workings of the country. She worked on several Democratic political campaigns, volunteered with some nonprofits, and joined the efforts to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. At one point, she started walking 2.5 miles each year to symbolize the 2.5 years people “waited” to be free. Eventually, she decided to walk from Fort Worth, Texas to Washington, D. C. — just to get people’s attention. In 2022, she told CBS News (and other outlets), “I decided that maybe if a little old lady, 89 years old, in tennis shoes [walked] from Fort Worth to Washington, somebody would pay attention.”

Her efforts paid off. Juneteenth became a United States federal holiday in 2021. Ms. Opal Lee’s story is inextricably linked to Juneteenth as an anniversary and, also, as a holiday. Now, her story has come full circle. She is back, living in a new home, on the land her family owned in the 1930s… celebrating Juneteenth.

As I thought about how that full circle moment makes for a great story — a story of mythical proportions — I started reflecting on how the human brain loves puzzles, patterns, rhythms, and stories and on how some of us love myths… and myth building. I certainly do. On a certain level, we all do. I’m not even sure we can help ourselves. I think it is human nature to take the facts, the details of a story or situation, and magnify them into something so grand that it is both memorable and inspirational.

Especially when the story is important.

And the most important stories in U. S. history are stories about freedom, liberty, and independence.

What Does It Mean to be Free? (the “missing” Monday post w/links)

“When asked what she wants to be remembered for, [Opal Lee] responded, ‘I want them to know that the little old lady dreamed and they can dream too and that dreams can come to fruition.’”

— quoted from the CBS News story, “‘Grandmother of Juneteenth’ Opal Lee reflects on her journey to secure a national holiday” by Nikole Killion (dated June 15, 2022)

Myths and myth building are not, in and of themselves, bad things. Yet, when we see stories in history being built into myths we also have to look at what is getting magnified, why it is getting magnified, and how it is inspiring people.

In other words, what are people doing with the inspiration?

That last question is particularly important, because the best stories come out of conflict. Conflict is always a great source for myth building, especially when you combine a story with art. We see this all over world; we definitely see it here in the United States… especially in the South. Myths (and myth building) about the Civil War are the reason we ended up with statutes and places dedicated to the losing side and why we still see at least one of the Confederate flags out in the world. Myths are also the reason Alabama has three state holidays related to the Confederacy — and why none of them are Juneteenth.

Don’t get it twisted; I’m not saying myths or myth building are bad. After all, myths (and myth building) related to the Civil War are the reason William Tolman “W. T.” Carlton painted “Watch Meeting—Dec. 31st 1862—Waiting for the Hour” in 1863. It depicts a group of Black people focused on a pocket watch, waiting for the moment the Emancipation Proclamation became law. To this day, there are people who celebrate that moment on December 31^st. However, “watch meetings” didn’t start with that moment. They predated 1862 and were secret church services in Protestant traditions. Additionally, it is unlikely that the moment in the painting happened as it is depicted.

Remember, the proclamation only applied to states that were in rebellion — states that had, for all intensive purposes, created their own country. At the “hour” in question, the proclamation had as much power as a current American law has over any other country in the world. Similarly, the painting is symbolic, meant to capture the feeling of the time and to inspire people to keep fighting for freedom. Abolitionists in Boston purchased the original painting as a gift for then-President Abraham Lincoln. A copy was placed in the Lincoln Bedroom during the 200-year celebrations of the Declaration of Independence in 1976. When he took office, then-President Barack Obama had the painting in the Lincoln Bedroom moved so that it could be seen by anyone entering or leaving the Oval Office.

“Just outside the Oval Office hangs a painting depicting the night of December 31, 1862. In it, African-American men, women, and children crowd around a single pocket watch, waiting for the clock to strike midnight and the Emancipation Proclamation to take effect. As the slaves huddle anxiously in the dimly lit room, we can sense how even two more minutes seems like an eternity to wait for one’s freedom. But the slaves of Galveston, Texas, had to wait more than two years after Lincoln’s decree and two months after Appomattox to receive word that they were free at last.

Today we commemorate the anniversary of that delayed but welcome news.”

— quoted from President Barack Obama’s “Statement by the President on the Observance of Juneteenth” (2016)

Remember, a myth is just a well-told story and a well-told story is why we have the United States of America. It’s also why we have Juneteenth.

Happy Juneteenth, everybody!

“Everything you do, every thought you have, every word you say creates a memory that you will hold in your body. It’s imprinted on you and affects you in subtle ways – ways you are not always aware of. With that in mind, be very conscious and selective.”

— Phylicia Rashād, née Ayers-Allen (born in Houston, Texas, June 19, 1948)

“Memory is the story. Our memories are what make us.”

— Tobias Wolff (born in Birmingham, Alabama, June 19, 1945)

Wednesday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for ”0619 Juneteenth 2021”]

If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.

White Flag is a new app, which I have not yet researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.

If you are a young person in crisis, feeling suicidal, or in need of a safe and judgement-free place to talk, you can also click here to contact the TrevorLifeline (which is staffed 24/7 with trained counselors).

### Oh, Freedom! ###