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The Day Galveston Island Caught its Breath
A poem about Juneteenth.
The acknowledgment and celebration of Juneteenth as an American and possibly international holiday is something that I would put in the life goals column for me.
Kenya Barris
My students were oblivious to Juneteenth.
Over 20 days during summer vacation I teach. It’s an opportunity outside the school year where my kids can read a play or book they may not read on the outside. It’s all about exposure, and it’s this idea which brings me to what I want to discuss with you.
Across the country, there are Juneteenth celebrations in many major cities. Furthermore, I must commend Oklahoma for legislating the teaching of Juneteenth in their schools and the 46 states which recognize it as a holiday.
I teach in a juvenile detention center, and the majority of my clientele is African American males and females. It’s an ugly reality of many of our institutions of incarceration.
In 2015 44 percent of juvenile detainees were African American but only makeup 16 percent of the juveniles in the United States. It’s because of this fact I am compelled to touch upon African American history when the opportunity presents itself and today was such an opportunity.
I asked them who knew anything about Juneteenth. After several seconds of thinking, all stated they knew nothing about the holiday. What’s amazing is that I was surprised by their lack of exposure to such an important event. I expected at least one student to know since the town I live in has a huge celebration each year to commemorate the occasion.
I took this as a teachable moment and explained the significance of the holiday. They had no idea blacks worked two and half years longer in Texas with no knowledge of the Emancipation Proclamation.
I went into further detail about how the 4th of July isn’t our holiday and that Juneteenth is our actual Independence day.
After the discussion, they began to see the hypocrisy of our democracy and how it didn’t always apply equally to their ancestors.
I couldn’t allow the moment to pass. If I did, it was a disservice to my students and the community. The…
