As we celebrate today, let us remember the growing militarization of municipal and state police forces, supported by grants of weaponry and equipment from the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security, the extensive operations of government that are conducted in secret, especially within the federal executive branch, including the national security apparatus and so-called “black budget” expenditures, that get little oversight from Congress, let alone the general public; and the growing restrictions on freedom of speech, including those resulting from the privatization or other loss of formerly public spaces where people may gather, discuss issues, petition and otherwise exchange ideas.

Juneteenth is recognized as a day of reflection, education, and celebration of African American history and achievements. It serves as a reminder of the struggles and resilience of African Americans in their pursuit of freedom and equality. Juneteenth also provides an opportunity for people of all backgrounds to come together to acknowledge the injustices of the past, to promote racial reconciliation, and to reaffirm the commitment to the ongoing fight for social justice and equality for all.

• “An opportunity to discuss resistance against oppression has been turned into a substance-free feel good day.”

Juneteenth has become the latest iteration of liberal capture of Black politics, opportunistic virtue signaling, and the intentional misrepresentation of America’s history.

SOUTH DEERFIELD, MA – The Green-Rainbow Party (GRP) honors JuneteenthJuneteenth.gif 2021, the first year the holiday is officially recognized in Massachusetts. Juneteenth arose out of the celebrations on June 19, 1865, when the slaves of the last Confederate holdout were officially freed in Galveston Texas. It was the starting point, but nowhere near the finish line for true equality of all Americans.

The GRP Co-chairs would like to acknowledge and honor the following persons who contributed to the well-being, prosperity and freedom of all Americans.

• Celebrate Freedom & Pride

San Jose, CA – Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. It is a time for joy and celebration, and it's also time it is finally made a U.S. holiday, something that may happen with the unanimous passage of a Senate resolution on June 15, 2021 establishing June 19 as Juneteenth National Independence Day.

• Green Party Steering Committee member Trahern Crews holding sign in front of the Minnesota state Capitol to mark Juneteenth by demanding reparations and police reform legislation from state lawmakers.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota's Black Lives Matter chapter took to the state Capitol on Friday to mark Juneteenth with a demand for reparations and real police reform in a continued push for racial justice following the death of George Floyd.

Juneteenth, the traditional commemoration date of the emancipation of enslaved African Americans, has taken on new resonance this year. There have been protests around the U.S. and beyond stemming from Floyd's death after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers.

The Green Party National Black Caucus honors the legacy and collective power of the community and has been building up to today's celebration of Juneteenth (June 19).

Juneteenth recognizes the time when freed slaves in Texas were finally aware of their freedom and the end of the “Civil War”. That day came nearly two and one half years after the Emancipation Proclamation.

• An Illusive Freedom

• Latest news from the Green Party of Santa Clara County

It was 155 years ago on June 19, 1865, that an "end to slavery" was declared in Texas. Juneteenth celebrates this historic event, but are Black people really free in the 21st century? The disenfranchisement, systematic racism and oppression of Black and Brown communities across our country are still very present.

On this Juneteenth, we must confront the impacts of racism dating back to the founding of the United States with the slave trade of Black people brought from Africa, Jim Crow segregation, and policies that continue to this day that cause wealth inequality, disinvestment in Black communities, police violence, mass incarceration, and white nationalist violence.

A pre-eminent African historian, Basil Davidson, credits the initiation of the African slave trade to Columbus. The first license granted to send enslaved Africans to the Caribbean was issued in 1501, during Columbus’s rule in the Indies. Davidson labels Columbus the “father of the slave trade.” African slavery is as old as the European colonization of North America.