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As thousands around the state gather this weekend for barbeque and fellowship over our nation’s latest federal holiday, it is profitable to also reflect on what the true meaning of Juneteenth is, especially for White America. Seen perhaps as a Black holiday, Juneteenth commemorates the freedom slaves at Galveston Island received two years after the Civil War ended. For those unaware, slaves who lived on islands throughout the south lived a different life than slaves on the mainland. They were the most separate from society. There was little chance of escape. Harriet Tubman was not likely coming for them. So they settled into their new island homes, and as in the case of General Orders No. 3, it took a regiment of Major General Gordon to enforce what the Civil War secured, Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. “An absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves,” the document reads. The order went on to say that idleness would not be rewarded, in Texas, or elsewhere. What a novel idea, since idleness is what caused the Republican Party to lose the public relations battle that won Juneteenth for the Democrats. Ironically, it was the Democratic south that thrived in slavery and now, through the war of perception, is winning all over again as we celebrate freedom from slavery.
What then is the responsibility of White America in the midst of this black utopian weekend that every American is expected to support? If we acknowledge Juneteenth for what it is - a unique extension of the Emancipation Proclamation - rather than for what social media might paint it as, then we can begin to bridge the gap created to maintain an uneducated populace. White America, this might be your responsibility. It might be the opportunity to extend knowledge about the glorious history of the Republic and its first Republican president by informing people why Juneteenth is special. It also might be the responsibility of White America to insist that the media make a big deal about why White students do not know this aspect of American history. In fact, it would be the cherry on the cake if White America took the time to stand up for transparency in government - admitting when the ball has been fumbled and an opportunity stolen. Of course, the White America being targeted here is the Conservative.
Imagine that all Americans, of every shade and hue, began to understand the political nuance that led to Republican complacency. Furthermore, imagine if we, as free thinkers, in the democracy of democracies acted according to the precepts of our Republic rather than our own political allegiances. If we did so in the same conviction we display on Sunday mornings, rather than yielding to one propaganda campaign after another. It’s inarguable that Lincoln’s Republican Party deserves all the credit in the world for staging a coup on the South. But does that mean that LBJ also deserves all the credit in the world for the Civil Rights Amendments? Certainly not. The facts remain, in either case of Republican and Democrat, that political expediency was and is a stronger driving force than morality when it comes to elected officials. LBJ caved to civil rights leaders when he realized it was a sure way of political gain for generations; not because he suddenly had a change of his racist heart. Likewise, Lincoln delayed what could have been a run-away victory not just for former enslaved people, but for America as a whole, when he chose a Democrat Vice-President and buckled to the power of the south’s wealth and stubbornness. In fact, every Republican since Lincoln chose to cave to political pressure by not bringing Juneteenth forward as the great uniter of this union. Instead, a political has been will go down in history as the one who gave black people a day off for all their troubles - yet another brick in the wall that divides our nation.
Conservatives alone have the power to win or lose this country and the ideals it was founded on. Liberals who passionately go full throttle for their cause see no value in preserving that which must be preserved and therefore alienate themselves from America’s future. Blacks who want a piece of the American pie have been replaced by foreign-born or foreign-avowed residents whose place at the American picnic table comes with the full backing of every liberal-leaning organization, official, and social media post. In other words, due to complacency and political strategizing, Blacks have been reduced to pawns in a chess game for which they have little recourse to defend themselves. Blacks do hold a type of power, sure enough, but they are not in power to secure unity in and of themselves. Let’s face it, many Blacks cannot agree on what it would take to return their culture to the thriving, family-driven symbol of faith it once was. So the White American conservative has at their doorstep the mat of opportunity. It could start with General Order No. 3.
What would it take for an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves; a reduction of idleness and political expediency? From one point of view, it would take the party of Lincoln to start standing for what Lincoln stood for. It would take White Americans to recognize, with clarity, the historical record of race relations in this country. It would take nothing shy of a miraculous dose of hutzpah we haven’t seen from Republican candidates in a long time. Why shy away from the truth when it is on your side, one might ask. Why not empower those who recognize this truth and amplify their voice with yours. Why, for that matter, attempt to compete with and silence those who simply want to fight alongside good. The answer is cowardice (and perhaps greed).
Some will argue that White Conservatives are not cowards, nor greedy - that they have done enough for Black Conservatives to pick up the torch and run with it. I disagree. No one group won the Civil War. No one group won the Civil Rights Movement. No one group will win the battle over America.
In between passing the plate, the spades tournaments, and the laughter this weekend will bring, is a huge chasm of people are either too hindered or too unhinged to vote against the LBJ’s and Biden’s of the world because they truly do not see another option. As problematic as this dilemma is, there is still a clear path forward. In Georgia, it will be up to Rick Jackson, Mike Collins, and other nominees to pick up the torch. Statewide, however, White conservatives have to do a lot more than they’ve ever done to put ego aside and focus on what is really important to the whole of America. From Juneteenth to Independence is a short span of time but when it comes to keeping America for Americans, it is a long path to trod. It will take every hand to the plow. It will take partnership. It will take every you and me that has a will to fight for the country we love. Instead of relegating Juneteenth as the “black independence day,” in a kind of replacement patriotism, let us be mindful of the truth the holiday represents: Juneteenth is another example of Republican efforts to rectify the wounds slavery created - not to be confused with the grandstanding and posturing in the stump speeches of most candidates. How beautiful is the story of one who through providence stood corrected and did something to reconcile that wrong to the point of war. How vainglorious is it for those same souls to stand idly by while others pervert that story to the masses.
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