I grew up in Arlington, TX - a city placed between Dallas and Fort Worth. My father was a historian and is a proud civil rights advocate - the only time I’ve ever really seen him cry is when he describes the day MLK was assassinated. All of this is important because I didn’t know what Juneteenth was until a few years ago. How was this possible - I grew up in the state where it was founded? It was just another discovery into the bubble bursting of my whiteness where I discovered that I/we have SO much work to do - especially as white people. I never had anyone around me who proudly espoused segregation or white supremacy yet I was raised in a system that told the stories of our history in a way that wouldn’t upset the white people who did believe in segregation and white supremacy. I’ve now discovered that the word for this inadequacy in my education and culture is structural/systemic racism. It’s an insidious thing because it hurts all of us - to our cores. Our stories are not being shared with truth as the goal but rather conciliation. I’m tired of conciliating to people who don’t believe the tenets of our founding: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” I heard it spoken once that African Americans are the most patriotic of us because they believe and have fought for the truth in those words harder and with more passion than any white person ever could. I think there is such a beauty in that statement. The commitment to the idea that we can have a nation governed by the people - the beautiful rainbow dipped fruit bowl chocolate box assortment of people - is a dream we can have if we’re not afraid to imagine it and if we’re not afraid to let the rainbow in and stare down the darkness. Our diversity is the light that paves the way. If July 4th is a national holiday then Juneteenth should be as well. How dare we celebrate our independence from the British, while still enslaving millions of people, with such fanfare and not celebrate a day many consider to be the holiday that celebrates the emancipation of slavery. I qualify that because there are about half a dozen holidays that could mark that event and slavery never fully went away - it’s just evolved into a system of mass incarceration, redlines that made it impossible for black families to build wealth and when wealth was made they were massacred and burned to the ground (Tulsa Race Riots). The history and legacy of slavery in our country is something we need to take very seriously and we need to tell the story in all its truth. Yes, we should honor its abolishment but let’s not kid ourselves - there is work to be done. In writing this I’m reminded again of just how much pain and injustice people of this country have faced over centuries - it’s generational trauma. I fear that the stories that need to be told will be just too hard to hear. We must sit with this unease and get used to it and spill light into our corners and work at making a difference. I’ll leave you with a Netflix recommendation: ‘Avatar - The Last Airbender’. Uncle Iroh is a main character and he tells his troubled nephew something that has always stayed with me; “In the darkest times, hope is something you give yourself. That is the meaning of inner strength.” We can do this. AuthorVanessa Santos, Ladera Ranch Resident and LRSJC steering committee member
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February 2021
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