I have mixed emotions about Juneteenth becoming a national holiday. For one, it took us long enough, and two, the timing seems more of a ploy to shut us up about the issues of racism constantly being overlooked and whitewashed in our country.

Whenever my community gets loud about racism, we are met with backlash and temporary solutions that feel more like band-aids than cures. When we speak up about band-aids, we’re told how to feel by people who have no desire to understand. Instead, we should be grateful that we got something (a holiday), which is toxic positivity that future proves what we have always known, black lives don’t matter enough in this country.

Nonetheless, Juneteenth becoming a holiday is still a good thing. It’s the idea that it will spark curiosity in those who don’t know this part of history. Now, we just have to tackle the “critical race theory” ban to ensure students learn about it in school.

-Ebby