Juneteenth was wonderful, right?
A midweek holiday honoring something good and respectable. No embarrassment. No embarrassing looks when you have to explain to your out-of-state friends why you're off work. No need to try to explain why your state honors the birth of a man who wasn't born in Alabama, didn't care much about Alabama, and never did anything for the state.
It was Juneteenth.
Additionally, Rosa Parks Day should become a proper holiday, not just the “anniversary” it currently is.
That's right, the state of Alabama has given official holiday status to two of its county traitors, Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis, and has only “recognized” Juneteenth and the birth of one of the baddest, bravest women on the planet. (Juneteenth only became a state holiday this year because Governor Kay Ivey declared it to be so; the governor's proclamation is to be commended, but it's not her fault.)
I think it comes down to a simple question of values.
And for now, and perhaps forever, Alabama's leaders have decided to place more importance on two men who fought against enslavement, humiliation, torture, murder and the denial of basic rights to dark-skinned people than on the day original sin was officially thwarted and the Alabama women who sparked the civil rights movement.
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It's really disgusting.
Because these things matter. These things really tell people what this state values ​​and respects. Not because it's a silly state holiday, but because a choice is being made.
With each passing year, we choose to continue to honor Davis, who said he would do it again long after the Civil War, and Lee, a slave owner who could have easily chosen loyalty to the country he served but instead fought to keep human beings enslaved.
And each year, we continue to choose to honor our native Alabama heroes who fought for decency, goodness, honor and democracy.
And we don't just mean civil rights heroes: there are war heroes, social justice heroes, famous authors, great athletes who changed sports, and literally hundreds of other men and women who deserve to be honored.
Choosing any of these people would be a step in the right direction, a step away from hatred and cruelty.
Because all we are doing by maintaining Lee and Davis Holiday is soaking up malice and cruelty towards Black people in Alabama.
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Deep down, we all know that's true. We all know there is no good reason to honor either man with a holiday. We all know that there is nothing good or respectable about what they fought for. We all know that continuing to honor them only fuels this ignorant battle based on skin color.
Maybe that's exactly what some state leaders want. They need the struggle to stay relevant. They need racism because without it, they might have to do real work.
For the rest of us, it was a nice change to spend the day honoring something good.
I wish there were more days like that.
