Martin Luther King Jr.
The Reason We Celebrate Juneteenth
“No one is free until we are all free.” Those words are illustrated every year on June 19th. Why? Because it doesn’t memorialize the official 1865 proclamation that all American slaves were freed. It commemorates the real date two months later when the last slaves in the U.S. actually got the message. Even then, some slave owners had to be forced to relinquish their “property.”
And the Struggle Continues
Because official and real are still not the same thing. Many years later, in the mid-20th century, Langston Hughes wrote, “I swear to the Lord, I still can’t see why democracy means everybody but me.”
And now? Juneteenth is a holiday in the truest sense of the word, a “holy day,” a day set apart not just to celebrate, but to soberly reflect on our convoluted legacy. As a nation, we should be proud of advancing freedom with our proclamation that all people are created equal. And penitent about the fact that it took us nearly a century to apply it to all. And even now we continue to struggle to live out what Dr. King meant when he said, “No one is free until we are all free.”
In a rare disagreement with you, my dear friend, one can be free even if no one else accesses the freedom available. From a slave’s human perspective, there is a kernel of truth in Dr. King’s quote, but some prefer to live in slavery.
❤️&🙏, c.a.
C.A., Dr. King is talking about rights and opportunites in a truly free society, and there’s far more than a kernal of truth in it. Unless I misunderstand you, my friend, what you’re talking about is personal responsibility–making choices when one is actually free to make them.
What?
Happy Juneteenth, Mitch.
Likewise, Andrew.
Thanks.
Wonderful message, Mich and well said❣️
Thank you, Cindy.
This is an excellent and important piece, Mitch. The quotes were especially well chosen. Thank you.
My privilege, Steve.
A reflective historical and commemorative post connecting Juneteenth with the broader civil rights message often associated with Martin Luther King Jr., emphasizing the idea of collective freedom and the ongoing significance of emancipation beyond its original proclamation date. 🇺🇸✨
I’m with May Angelou.
I love all the quotes you shared, but Coretta Scott King’s the most. Each generation must commit to racial, cultural, socioeconomic, and religious justice and harmony. Why? Because bigotry is like cockroaches and bed bugs—it’s hard to completely eradicate and comes right back when conditions are favorable.
True indeed, David.
Abraham Lincoln and Coretta Scott King–great quotes. 🙂
Mitch, thanks for a post with awesome quotes to make us stop and ponder, in a holy hush. We truly need to take our freedom, but not knowing about it, leads us to live in slavery.
Very true, Hazel.
😀
Such powerful words, human is human!
“Because official and real are still not the same thing.” Yes!
Mitch, I regret not having more time of late to stop by. An insightful collection of quotes. Would that we all listened more carefully to those messages.
Amen, Randy.
Freedom is the elusive land we are seeking, but it’s not natural freedom that we need before we have freedom from sin and death. That is what we are all bound to, it’s why Jesus came.
Natural freedom is vital, but what will we do with it when we’re still spiritually bound?
Just a thought
Blessings
And a good one, my friend.
I agree with Coretta Scott King as well as David from davidsdailydose above–and certainly could not express any better the truth of their statements!
🧡