We recently discovered a word which further describes our deep sentiment about what we would like to see as the fate of the new Extremist Party (the old GOP). The word “extirpate” means to root out, wipe out, pull up by the roots, and completely do away with. The word struck home with us and describes what we would like to see as the fate of this new Republican Party. An example, in a fine display of stupidity and ignorance, recently MT Greene of the Extremist Party made a threatening statement when she demanded that President Joe Biden provide his response about the China Wuhan lab by June 31st. In an air of continued witlessness, she failed to know that there is no June 31st.
Her actions further begs the question, can we find a path to remove her and the other inept representatives from office? Can the Democrats put together a voter freedom plan that will increase registration, get more souls to the polls, educate and support voters? It looks like Stacey Abrams and Keisha Lance Bottoms are working together on this path. You go girls!
Along those lines, we would like to shine the light on Juneteenth, which is short for June nineteenth. Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, is considered the longest-running African American holiday. June 19th marks the day in 1865 when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas to take control of the State and ensure that all enslaved people were freed. The troop arrival in Texas was over two years after Lincoln issued the first Emancipation Proclamation in 1862 which freed all slaves in the US.
More than 250,000 slaves in Texas who had remained in bondage were freed when Union soldiers brought the news of freedom to Galveston on that day. The following year, former slaves in Texas began to celebrate June 19th which would become known as Juneteenth and mark the end to slavery in the US.
Over a hundred and fifty years later, the US Congress passed a bill this week that would make Juneteenth, or June 19th, a federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. President Biden quickly signed the bill leading to Juneteenth becoming the 12th federal holiday.
The marking of Juneteenth as a federal holiday, also known as Emancipation Day and Black Independence Day, is a beginning and we hope that this will lead to more action on racism, hate crimes, police brutality, and justice for all. Now, it is time to start teaching the history of racism and Critical Race Theory in schools and not skirt this subject with our children any longer. The teaching of Critical Race Theory is now banned in Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, and Oklahoma. And there are 12 other states now debating a similar ban. Atrocious!
As we move ahead with this latest holiday, could we not pass the John Lewes Voting Rights Act as well? And, how about making lynching a federal hate crime which it is not currently? Doing so would be cause for celebration! Many see a Juneteenth holiday as only cosmetic for it does not address the underlining issues of racism. Instead, why don’t we follow through with the promise of the Emancipation Proclamation and our Constitution and make Juneteenth a day of education, voter registration, and community convergence.
As you enjoy your summer, let us celebrate those acts that usher in new laws that stand for social justice as we continue to extirpate the Extremist Party and their deleterious ways.
“Until I am free, you are not either” Fannie Lou Hamer
Voting and women’s rights activist, community organizer, leader and hero in the civil rights movement.
