An Open Letter to Fellow White People on Juneteenth

Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

So, tomorrow is Juneteenth. Yesterday, at the last possible moment, Congress voted to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. Only 14 Republican Congressmen voted against it and Biden signed the law yesterday afternoon.

Here’s the thing, fellow white people.

Don’t be surprised to hear Black people not cheering this decision. First of all, it’s performative. (Which says something about those 14 Congressmen that isn’t very nice).

Second of all, we all know who works even harder on Federal holidays. “White people gave themselves a day off” is one comment I saw.

What we’ve taken to calling essential workers, more of whom are Black, are going to find Juneteenth turns into a day they aren’t allowed to take off so they can serve white people.

Oh.

Dear.

Unintended consequences? Or perhaps, given how many racists voted in favor of this…

So, I’m writing an open letter to my fellow white people to encourage us all to take steps to do our best to stop Juneteenth turning into Thanksgiving.

Help Black People Get the Day Off

Look, I get it. Your store or restaurant is going to make more money. But how about this: