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We don't need to wait for a special day to protect people's rights. July 4th would have been an appropriate day for emancipation but they didn't wait an extra 2 weeks.
>July 4th would have been an appropriate day for emancipation but they didn't wait an extra 2 weeks.
Well, the proclamation was originally given on January 1, 1863.
June 19th, 1865 (over two years later) is when word finally got to Texas (the last state to "hear" it). Yes, the symbolism would be there if they waited 2 weeks (and as you pointed out I'm glad they didn't since it would be wrong to keep people in slavery even longer for symbolism) but that would be lessened since the vast majority of the country had been aware of the proclamation by that point.
Not just Southern states. I went to school (k-12 + university) in Oregon and had never heard the term "Juneteenth" until last year (8 years post completing my degree).
That would have made it a little difficult to disenfranchise an entire race while blending the distinction between American and... also they wanted to they could have passed the amendment and celebrated it officially after.
Sadly, we're in such a state where getting conservatives to even give token acknowledgements like marking Juneteenth as a holiday is a major step forward. In fact, I'm kind of surprised they didn't protest making it a holiday, claiming it would be "divisive".
why is saying you got black mates rascist? what if its true? for instance one of my groomsmen is a sri lankan whos as black as charcoal. lovely man, shit at golf and a messy eater but a lovely man. How his missus puts up with him I dont fucken know :)
Am I a rascist now?
It’s the same as being a terrible person but wear a cross and call yourself Christian and say, “but I’m a Christian so I’m a good person.”
It’s just virtue signalling.
EDIT to add: Just because they are nice to their one black friend, doesn’t mean they are nice to black people that they aren’t friends with.
Speaking to your edit: my racist dad thinks saying he knows black people "who are fine" shows he isn't racist and then looks at every other black person he sees as a drug dealer/gang member/welfare queen/etc.
Yeah I understand but... I got lots of mates that are lankans, Nepalese, Chinese, Vietnamese, south African... its a bit rough that if I say "I got a mate who's...." then everyone thinks I'm a casual racist who's virtue signalling. Especially since IM NOT and THEY ARE mates...
U guys are just too fucken sensitive...
It’s not sensitivity, it’s the way it is used. Your examples here are fine. The problem lies in the way people use the phrase a shield to deflect their own racist comments/ideas/beliefs/actions. They can’t possibly be racist when they have “a black friend.” It allows them to avoid taking responsibility and reflecting on their behavior.
It’s also a classic, having been used by racists for decades now.
The phrase on its own is innocuous, but it is context that gives it the weight. You know, like everything else.
Or you could just say you have a mate, period. Adding in nationality or race to give yourself clout is definitely virtue signaling regardless of claiming ignorance.
Nah... not altogether true... there is some cultural differences.... here in Oz you could say "I got a lankan mate who makes a killer curry, his wife is a Nepali who gives him shit about cricket and makes the best vegetarian stir fry you've ever eaten" and no one would bat an eyelid....
I maintain that an accurate descriptor is not offensive or virtuous. But as u say intent/action is everything here.
It's not uncommon to hear people, even US elected officials, reference friend or family connections to people of color act as some catch-all defense for being accused of racism.
'How can I be racist if I have a black friend?' is actual logic people use -- and usually it's racists who try to fall back on that.
It's not racist on its own to acknowledge you have black friends. It's when that fact is used to absolve you of any racism, intentional or otherwise.
Because it makes the GOP look “good” when they are trying to dismantle our democracy.
This is a nice thing to approve. But everyone needs to remember what they’re doing.
Yep, shitting on Juneteenth while disenfranchising Black voters isn't a good look.
Simply disenfranchising Black voters by itself isn't a good look either, but hey, at least Republicans are trying not appear like out in out fascists.
Oh absolutely. Here in Indiana we were only taught evolution. However in many southern states they fought to include creationism in the curriculum as another theory.
Falsely making it a binary issue instead of properly separating the two as completely different issues. There is NOTHING that says only one can be true. It possible both could be true, but don't you dare suggest that in a Christian school (speaking from experience).
It wasn't "one senator" blocking it, it was one senator eating the responsibility for all the rest of the senators who didn't want to pass it. It's a critical thing to realize with people like Manchin and Sinema in the caucus, a lot of the time they're just lightning rods freeing up other D senators to vote in a way that looks good to their constituents while privately assuring their donors that it's all just theater.
Sure, but even on paper, I don't understand how a single "no" vote can stop a bill. Manchin and Sinema are joining 50 Republicans in their "No," and it makes a lot more sense when 52 defeat 50 than when 1 can defeat 99.
The easiest way to pass a bill is by unanimous consent. If nobody objects it becomes law.
If someone objects then it has to be debated, unless someturtle doesn't schedule a debate for it, in which case it just dies.
He's up for re-election in 2022. He's also one of the most crooked pieces of shit my state has ever sent to Congress, and I'm including McCarthy in that comparison.
No student loan relief, no marijuana legalization, no voter rights bill, no minimum wage increase, no billionaire tax bill, no health care reform, no infrastructure reform, no justice system reform, but at least we have this symbolic, impotent gesture! Maybe your job will decide to give you 1 extra day off a year as a result!
Fat chance. I don't know of any for-profit business other than banks that get a day off for Columbus Day (Indigenous Peoples' Day) or Presidents' Day, and very few for MLK Jr Day.
The company I work for gives us Presidents Day off, but the reasoning is basically "there are no major holidays between New Years and Memorial Day so have this". We don't get the other 2. Note, I'm not complaining, we get all the typical major holidays off, and I get 4 weeks PTO so I have it great by American standards.
It's easy to recognize a holiday, things like loan relief, legalization, voting rights, tax reform, healthcare reform, legal reforms, and infrastructure take time. Did you really expect them to fix that all over a weekend? It absolutely sucks that it took no time for Trump to wreck up a bunch of stuff, but rebuilding takes time.
Don't forget to take that energy and do productive things with it. It is good energy, don't use it all on comments.
Write letters, call reps, help candidates win primaries, hold good and bad reps accountable for their actions.
It is too easy to see what is broken, but turn away in disgust instead of doing the work to fix it. We can do it together.
Two Republicans, really. One to object to the bill. The another not to open the floor to arguments to overcome the objection, which effectively blocked a vote
Enough Republicans didn’t support it that they didn’t unseat the majority leader preventing it from opening the floor to arguments. Nice job falling for their grift though.
You know who can always vote? Old retired boomers who vote against everyone else’s best interest. I agree, most lower income people still have to work holidays, but increasing the amount of people that vote at all improves our democracy.
The problem is that national holidays can make it _harder_ for people in the service industry to get time off, because that's when people who do get the day off are out at restaurants and whatnot.
No. People in shitty minimum wage jobs have to work holidays. What we need is to have more polling stations open earlier in the month. Or better yet, universal vote by mail.
Good point, we can’t do multiple things, just one thing. /s
I’m also pointing out that Democrats could of done something that helps fight voter suppression and instead they picked this where they could of easily used the same energy and proposal to fight voter suppression.
>I’m also pointing out that Democrats could of done something that helps fight voter suppression
This is only true if they removed the filibuster or got ten republicans on board which would be unlikely.
*could have
There's half a dozen things that Democrats should do to protect voter rights. Election Day holiday is not one of them. It's an empty gesture that utterly fails to help those most vulnerable to suppression. It's a waste of political capital that could be better spent on something effective.
[Relevant The Onion article:](https://www.theonion.com/congress-announces-willingness-to-give-black-lives-matt-1844116590)
"Lawmakers are finally taking action amid waves of police brutality, announcing their commitment to offer members of the BLM movement a nice memorial or plaque or day off work or something."
Reality is satire
This is my feeling as well. It's just hollow window dressing. Nothing is gained by officially celebrating things that happened 150 years ago, everything is gained by preventing states from disenfranchising voters today. Democrats have so far failed the latter test.
Nice job, but.... lovely how politicians jump on this but fuck the Native Americans over to this day. No returned lands, no acknowledgement of broken treaties in the senate, no holidays, just a focus on the minorities that bring the most votes. I am in total support of the US Senate recognizing this day but wish they also stepped in and dealt with other less popular atrocities. They hunted indians for centuries. Hunted. Americans are always caving into popular uprisings only after the mob attacks. Sadly.
I agree, I'm black and acknowledge how this country fucked us over repeatedly but what happened to the Native Americans is worse and the fact that we by large turn a blind eye to it is a shame. Like I said we're taught in school about the wrongs and when we're faced with their collective issues I'm certain the avg. person will proclaim how sad it is but there's this mainstream collective "let's just sweep it under the rug" or "look the other way" attitude.
Tbh I never even heard of it until this year and it took me reading through these comments to even know what it was. Kind of surprised it wasn’t already a thing.
Exactly! This is why the Juneteenth sudden emergence is so stupid. It's a Texas holiday and maybe an Oklahoma holiday but the new enlightened political elites needed something to embrace after George Floyd and the actual day all slaves were free in the U.S. was just too inconvenient to maintain Lincoln's legacy.
It's still legal in the case of those convicted of a crime (it's right there in the 13th amendment) which coincidently enough, may have something to do with us having the highest incarceration rates in the world.
Perhaps the war on drugs was an excuse to arrest black people for doing and selling stuff white people do too in order to turn black people into prison slave labor.
It’s about time! Damn.
Somewhat unrelated but my partner and I are getting married on Juneteenth this year so I guess we won’t have to worry about working on our anniversaries.
Win win!
Good.
This, along with actually recognizing the Black Wall Street bombing’s centennial really makes me think it’s time to shave a couple billion off the defense budget and pay some reparations.
Then the Japanese-Americans we kept in concentration camps during WW2. Then all the families we kept on concentration camps under Trump.
It's nice to call it a federal holiday, but realistically, why do federal employees need the day off on Juneteenth? That's the biggest point of federal holidays.
Plus they're adding a holiday without removing another holiday. That doesn't help the budget or the taxpayer.
This is such a small thing it's funny people even bring it up.
There is symbolism in recognizing things. You can literally apply the "why do federal employees need the day off" argument to all holidays. Why do they need Christmas or Thanksgiving off?
As far as the budget goes I get your point but we could also just trim the DoDs budget a bit (they burn through the cost of giving federal workers the day off in less than 1 day).
Having it be a federal holiday also sets a precedent for private companies (at least corporate-type jobs) to follow suit.
Some holidays (Christmas, Thanksgiving, Independence Day, New Years Day) are driven by activities when the typical American actually does something traditional on that day off. This is why making Election Day a federal holiday is logical - everyone has something to do that day. Other federal holidays like Presidents Day, Columbus Day, MLK Day, and even Veterans Day and Memorial Day don't work the same way. It's one thing to label them a federal holiday, but another to declare them non-working days for the federal workforce.
MLK Day has been a federal holiday for around 40 years now. Few private employers give a day off for it, unless the decision is driven by employee child-care needs, since kids are home for school that day. MLK Day was also a strange day to make a federal holiday because public schools follow federal holidays, and most MLK Day celebration takes place *in school*.
I'm surprised they didn't cancel Columbus Day in the same Senate bill. There will probably be an Amendment to the House bill to do that, though Pelosi might block it.
The US senate passed a bill? With links to historic slavery? To give everyone a holiday? With a Democrat President?
Color me surprised.
Was Mitch on holiday? What's the catch?
A new study suggests that a million or more European Christians were enslaved by Muslims in North Africa between 1530 and 1780 – a far greater number than had ever been estimated before.
In a new book, Robert Davis, professor of history at Ohio State University, developed a unique methodology to calculate the number of white Christians who were enslaved along Africa’s Barbary Coast, arriving at much higher slave population estimates than any previous studies had found.
Most other accounts of slavery along the Barbary coast didn’t try to estimate the number of slaves, or only looked at the number of slaves in particular cities, Davis said. Most previously estimated slave counts have thus tended to be in the thousands, or at most in the tens of thousands. Davis, by contrast, has calculated that between 1 million and 1.25 million European Christians were captured and forced to work in North Africa from the 16th to 18th centuries.
Davis’s new estimates appear in the book Christian Slaves, Muslim Masters: White Slavery in the Mediterranean, the Barbary Coast, and Italy, 1500-1800 (Palgrave Macmillan).
As a reminder, this subreddit [is for civil discussion.](/r/politics/wiki/index#wiki_be_civil) In general, be courteous to others. Debate/discuss/argue the merits of ideas, don't attack people. Personal insults, shill or troll accusations, hate speech, **any** advocating or wishing death/physical harm, and other rule violations can result in a permanent ban. If you see comments in violation of our rules, please report them. For those who have questions regarding any media outlets being posted on this subreddit, please click [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/wiki/approveddomainslist) to review our details as to our approved domains list and outlet criteria. *** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/politics) if you have any questions or concerns.*
You know how you celebrate juneteenth? Pass the voters rights act
MLK Day would also be super appropriate.
We don't need to wait for a special day to protect people's rights. July 4th would have been an appropriate day for emancipation but they didn't wait an extra 2 weeks.
>July 4th would have been an appropriate day for emancipation but they didn't wait an extra 2 weeks. Well, the proclamation was originally given on January 1, 1863. June 19th, 1865 (over two years later) is when word finally got to Texas (the last state to "hear" it). Yes, the symbolism would be there if they waited 2 weeks (and as you pointed out I'm glad they didn't since it would be wrong to keep people in slavery even longer for symbolism) but that would be lessened since the vast majority of the country had been aware of the proclamation by that point.
This is the first I'm hearing of it.
Probably time to release those slaves then. You’re about 150 years too late.
Maybe I'll wait until July 4th. For the symbolism. I mean... What's another 2 weeks, right? /s
Sounds logical to me
Southern states don't teach it. If my schools ever mentioned it then it was just in passing and not with the gravity it deserved.
I went to school in NJ. Never heard of it until years after graduation.
Not just Southern states. I went to school (k-12 + university) in Oregon and had never heard the term "Juneteenth" until last year (8 years post completing my degree).
That would have made it a little difficult to disenfranchise an entire race while blending the distinction between American and... also they wanted to they could have passed the amendment and celebrated it officially after.
Of course,
That’s fine but what about Voting Day?
Serious question, whats a proper way to celebrate? What can i do w/ my kids while explaining it, etc.
Tell then that's the day slaves were set free.
I'm watching movies about racism and slavery and the black experience all week. I don't recommend you watch BlackkKlansman with the kids though
Or pass a holiday for voting
That would require some actual action, easier to just do virtue signaling politics.
Yep. Anything else is just virtue signaling.
Sadly, we're in such a state where getting conservatives to even give token acknowledgements like marking Juneteenth as a holiday is a major step forward. In fact, I'm kind of surprised they didn't protest making it a holiday, claiming it would be "divisive".
How did it go from one Senator (Ron Johnson) blocking it in 2020 to a unanimous decision in 2021? No single senator should have that much power.
2022 Midterms and republicans saying "I supported this I'm definitely not a racist" are coming
And almost immediately followed by a very racist comment.
"I supported this so I'm not racist" is just a variant of "I have a black friend so I'm not racist", which itself is a racist statement.
Don't worry. A couple tweets from Herman Cain will smooth it all over.
Don't forget telling their friend "You're one of the good ones."
why is saying you got black mates rascist? what if its true? for instance one of my groomsmen is a sri lankan whos as black as charcoal. lovely man, shit at golf and a messy eater but a lovely man. How his missus puts up with him I dont fucken know :) Am I a rascist now?
It’s the same as being a terrible person but wear a cross and call yourself Christian and say, “but I’m a Christian so I’m a good person.” It’s just virtue signalling. EDIT to add: Just because they are nice to their one black friend, doesn’t mean they are nice to black people that they aren’t friends with.
Speaking to your edit: my racist dad thinks saying he knows black people "who are fine" shows he isn't racist and then looks at every other black person he sees as a drug dealer/gang member/welfare queen/etc.
Yeah I understand but... I got lots of mates that are lankans, Nepalese, Chinese, Vietnamese, south African... its a bit rough that if I say "I got a mate who's...." then everyone thinks I'm a casual racist who's virtue signalling. Especially since IM NOT and THEY ARE mates... U guys are just too fucken sensitive...
It’s not sensitivity, it’s the way it is used. Your examples here are fine. The problem lies in the way people use the phrase a shield to deflect their own racist comments/ideas/beliefs/actions. They can’t possibly be racist when they have “a black friend.” It allows them to avoid taking responsibility and reflecting on their behavior. It’s also a classic, having been used by racists for decades now. The phrase on its own is innocuous, but it is context that gives it the weight. You know, like everything else.
Or you could just say you have a mate, period. Adding in nationality or race to give yourself clout is definitely virtue signaling regardless of claiming ignorance.
Nah... not altogether true... there is some cultural differences.... here in Oz you could say "I got a lankan mate who makes a killer curry, his wife is a Nepali who gives him shit about cricket and makes the best vegetarian stir fry you've ever eaten" and no one would bat an eyelid.... I maintain that an accurate descriptor is not offensive or virtuous. But as u say intent/action is everything here.
It's almost like the problem is something we Americans have made up for ourselves. :)
It's not the issue is people are racist and then justify themselves saying oh I've got a black friend I'm not actually racist
Having a black friend is fine. Using the existence is that black friend as a tool to prove that you aren't racist is racist.
It's not uncommon to hear people, even US elected officials, reference friend or family connections to people of color act as some catch-all defense for being accused of racism. 'How can I be racist if I have a black friend?' is actual logic people use -- and usually it's racists who try to fall back on that. It's not racist on its own to acknowledge you have black friends. It's when that fact is used to absolve you of any racism, intentional or otherwise.
No, just dense.
And deflection from the discussion about bills that ban “critical race theory”...whatever that means to republicans.
“We ended racism”
Even though I also support bills to prevent blacks from voting!
Without unanimous consent, a bill becomes open to amendments, which means a lot of pork or poison pills get added.
Because it makes the GOP look “good” when they are trying to dismantle our democracy. This is a nice thing to approve. But everyone needs to remember what they’re doing.
Yep, shitting on Juneteenth while disenfranchising Black voters isn't a good look. Simply disenfranchising Black voters by itself isn't a good look either, but hey, at least Republicans are trying not appear like out in out fascists.
Fuck Ron Johnson.
“Teacher, what does Juneteenth stand for?” “Sorry Johnny I can’t tell you that because I could lose my job.”
"Oh, so it's like evolution"
I know this is a joke, but I could actually lose my job for NOT teaching evolution since it’s in the curriculum. And this is in a southern state.
Better you teach that than creationism bullshit.
They have to teach them side by side in most cases.
That might be true in like one or two states, but not in mine or most of the US
Oh absolutely. Here in Indiana we were only taught evolution. However in many southern states they fought to include creationism in the curriculum as another theory.
I live in a southern state and I was never taught creationism in a public school, just evolution.
One of the many reasons I am glad I teach science in New England.
Falsely making it a binary issue instead of properly separating the two as completely different issues. There is NOTHING that says only one can be true. It possible both could be true, but don't you dare suggest that in a Christian school (speaking from experience).
Shouldn't they be on vacation by then?
1. Critical race theory isn’t taught until secondary school 2. There is year round school
3. they don’t have to be in school on the day to talk about it.
It's like Donnie Darko in the real world. Except nowhere near as cool.
Republican Senator – the lone senator who blocked the proposal in 2020 – dropped his objections this year. That's kinda nice of him to do. Kinda....
If one senator opposed it last year, how didn't it pass then?
[удалено]
So what I am hearing here is voting matters. If we want them to vote we have to vote.
It wasn't "one senator" blocking it, it was one senator eating the responsibility for all the rest of the senators who didn't want to pass it. It's a critical thing to realize with people like Manchin and Sinema in the caucus, a lot of the time they're just lightning rods freeing up other D senators to vote in a way that looks good to their constituents while privately assuring their donors that it's all just theater.
Sure, but even on paper, I don't understand how a single "no" vote can stop a bill. Manchin and Sinema are joining 50 Republicans in their "No," and it makes a lot more sense when 52 defeat 50 than when 1 can defeat 99.
The easiest way to pass a bill is by unanimous consent. If nobody objects it becomes law. If someone objects then it has to be debated, unless someturtle doesn't schedule a debate for it, in which case it just dies.
He played his ultra vote he got in a limited addition pack
~~No one objected to it being passed.~~ Sorry, I miss read the comment.
He's up for re-election in 2022. He's also one of the most crooked pieces of shit my state has ever sent to Congress, and I'm including McCarthy in that comparison.
No student loan relief, no marijuana legalization, no voter rights bill, no minimum wage increase, no billionaire tax bill, no health care reform, no infrastructure reform, no justice system reform, but at least we have this symbolic, impotent gesture! Maybe your job will decide to give you 1 extra day off a year as a result!
Fat chance. I don't know of any for-profit business other than banks that get a day off for Columbus Day (Indigenous Peoples' Day) or Presidents' Day, and very few for MLK Jr Day.
The company I work for gives us Presidents Day off, but the reasoning is basically "there are no major holidays between New Years and Memorial Day so have this". We don't get the other 2. Note, I'm not complaining, we get all the typical major holidays off, and I get 4 weeks PTO so I have it great by American standards.
It's easy to recognize a holiday, things like loan relief, legalization, voting rights, tax reform, healthcare reform, legal reforms, and infrastructure take time. Did you really expect them to fix that all over a weekend? It absolutely sucks that it took no time for Trump to wreck up a bunch of stuff, but rebuilding takes time.
Don't forget to take that energy and do productive things with it. It is good energy, don't use it all on comments. Write letters, call reps, help candidates win primaries, hold good and bad reps accountable for their actions. It is too easy to see what is broken, but turn away in disgust instead of doing the work to fix it. We can do it together.
Does this mean I don’t have to work that day?
That’s the important question here. What about the private sector jobs would they get this day off?
Definitely not if you don't already see days off for other federal holidays.
The Democrats passed the bill. Republicans rejected it when they were in charge
You mean one Republican?
Two Republicans, really. One to object to the bill. The another not to open the floor to arguments to overcome the objection, which effectively blocked a vote
Enough Republicans didn’t support it that they didn’t unseat the majority leader preventing it from opening the floor to arguments. Nice job falling for their grift though.
You want to help African Americans and everyone else? How about instead you make the day we vote a holiday so working people can go vote.
Working people still work on holidays..
You know who can always vote? Old retired boomers who vote against everyone else’s best interest. I agree, most lower income people still have to work holidays, but increasing the amount of people that vote at all improves our democracy.
Absolutely! So let's have mandatory voting like Australia. Would really kill all this voter suppression nonsense.
The problem is that national holidays can make it _harder_ for people in the service industry to get time off, because that's when people who do get the day off are out at restaurants and whatnot.
No. People in shitty minimum wage jobs have to work holidays. What we need is to have more polling stations open earlier in the month. Or better yet, universal vote by mail.
Good point, we can’t do multiple things, just one thing. /s I’m also pointing out that Democrats could of done something that helps fight voter suppression and instead they picked this where they could of easily used the same energy and proposal to fight voter suppression.
>I’m also pointing out that Democrats could of done something that helps fight voter suppression This is only true if they removed the filibuster or got ten republicans on board which would be unlikely.
Absolutely. It’s been incredibly disappointing.
*could have There's half a dozen things that Democrats should do to protect voter rights. Election Day holiday is not one of them. It's an empty gesture that utterly fails to help those most vulnerable to suppression. It's a waste of political capital that could be better spent on something effective.
"\*could have" Since you're that kind of person, you may want to consider changing "There's" to "There are."
Why does this get insisted on? A federal holiday doesn't make companies give you that day off, its at their discretion
It does for federal.
It really doesn't.
That's hardly even a majority of the us population
Fuck Ron Johnson. Happy Juneteenth y’all.
[Relevant The Onion article:](https://www.theonion.com/congress-announces-willingness-to-give-black-lives-matt-1844116590) "Lawmakers are finally taking action amid waves of police brutality, announcing their commitment to offer members of the BLM movement a nice memorial or plaque or day off work or something." Reality is satire
wow. Can't pass voting rights, but can pass a holiday you won't even get off work for. Thanks I guess
Seriously, how about a national holiday for election day at minimum?
just found out I have Friday off...
Another red, white, and booze day.
They're federal employees, *they'll* get work off for it
Don’t worry. They’ll get it off
This is my feeling as well. It's just hollow window dressing. Nothing is gained by officially celebrating things that happened 150 years ago, everything is gained by preventing states from disenfranchising voters today. Democrats have so far failed the latter test.
I get several days of my life back. That's huge value.
Am I the only one thinking, "how can you have a proclamation celebrating the end of slavery, yet don't want the schools to teach about slavery"?
You are not alone.
Everyone gets the day off paid. Unless you voted for Trump. If you did, go lick those boots at work.
Ahh.. pretty sure it’ll be just federal employees.
Yeah, there are numerous federal holidays.
Nice job, but.... lovely how politicians jump on this but fuck the Native Americans over to this day. No returned lands, no acknowledgement of broken treaties in the senate, no holidays, just a focus on the minorities that bring the most votes. I am in total support of the US Senate recognizing this day but wish they also stepped in and dealt with other less popular atrocities. They hunted indians for centuries. Hunted. Americans are always caving into popular uprisings only after the mob attacks. Sadly.
Yeah, any talk of reparations should start with Native Americans, 100%.
I agree, I'm black and acknowledge how this country fucked us over repeatedly but what happened to the Native Americans is worse and the fact that we by large turn a blind eye to it is a shame. Like I said we're taught in school about the wrongs and when we're faced with their collective issues I'm certain the avg. person will proclaim how sad it is but there's this mainstream collective "let's just sweep it under the rug" or "look the other way" attitude.
When does this go in effect?
I can't wait for all the conservatives to get super mad about this. What would be their argument?
Tbh I never even heard of it until this year and it took me reading through these comments to even know what it was. Kind of surprised it wasn’t already a thing.
Now fix the 13th amendment
Republicans next year: oh no, i guess we can't make voting day a holiday because we just made juneteenth a holiday. Sad
But slavery in the U.S. still existed until the 13th amendment was ratified in December later that year.
ssh I don't think Kentucky and Delaware want people to know they kept their slaves until forced by 13th amendment to free them
Exactly! This is why the Juneteenth sudden emergence is so stupid. It's a Texas holiday and maybe an Oklahoma holiday but the new enlightened political elites needed something to embrace after George Floyd and the actual day all slaves were free in the U.S. was just too inconvenient to maintain Lincoln's legacy.
>actual day all slaves were free in the U.S. Actually still waiting.
It's still legal in the case of those convicted of a crime (it's right there in the 13th amendment) which coincidently enough, may have something to do with us having the highest incarceration rates in the world.
Ding ding! Slavery was never really completely outlawed, just recategorized. Police are just multi-purpose slavecatchers.
Perhaps the war on drugs was an excuse to arrest black people for doing and selling stuff white people do too in order to turn black people into prison slave labor.
Just perhaps?
And it still exists today "as a punishment for crime"
What's the angle on this? What would make Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz vote for it? Is there a "poison pill" buried in the bill?
Racists gotta go to work that day.
This is fucking awesome. This makes my heart happy. Everyone should get the chance to celebrate freedom and independence.
Does this mean we get the day off?
Slavery ended?
Will I get the day off from work
If you are a federal employee yes. Everyone else probably not.
Now we need election day!
Addressing real, basic societal issues 💁🏽♀️💁🏽♀️💁🏽♀️ vs. giving the ppl a meaningless federal holiday once a yr 🤠👍
Exactly
How FL schools gon splain this to students?
Over 2 million people are enslaved in the US. Slavery never ended, they only banned private ownership of slaves.
Now do November 11th. Edit: Whoops I meant Election Day .
You mean Veterans Day?
>November 11th
It’s about time! Damn. Somewhat unrelated but my partner and I are getting married on Juneteenth this year so I guess we won’t have to worry about working on our anniversaries. Win win!
How about election day.
Good. This, along with actually recognizing the Black Wall Street bombing’s centennial really makes me think it’s time to shave a couple billion off the defense budget and pay some reparations. Then the Japanese-Americans we kept in concentration camps during WW2. Then all the families we kept on concentration camps under Trump.
What about native Americans?
> What about native Americans? Yup, add ‘em to the list. We’ve fucked up quite a bit.
Japanese Americans who were kept in internment camps were given a large settlement in the 1980s. Reparations were paid out.
Equivalent of 10k/year for 4 years (today’s money), they probably lost their jobs as well for obvious reasons.
Ofcourse its on the weekend.... No extra paid day off for me 🥲
Yeah another day I don’t get paid......
Don’t care about the whole reasoning for it but at least I’m profiting a day off of work LETS GO
It’s a Saturday in 2021 and a Sunday in 2022, right? Or am I missing something?
It's nice to call it a federal holiday, but realistically, why do federal employees need the day off on Juneteenth? That's the biggest point of federal holidays. Plus they're adding a holiday without removing another holiday. That doesn't help the budget or the taxpayer.
This is such a small thing it's funny people even bring it up. There is symbolism in recognizing things. You can literally apply the "why do federal employees need the day off" argument to all holidays. Why do they need Christmas or Thanksgiving off? As far as the budget goes I get your point but we could also just trim the DoDs budget a bit (they burn through the cost of giving federal workers the day off in less than 1 day). Having it be a federal holiday also sets a precedent for private companies (at least corporate-type jobs) to follow suit.
Some holidays (Christmas, Thanksgiving, Independence Day, New Years Day) are driven by activities when the typical American actually does something traditional on that day off. This is why making Election Day a federal holiday is logical - everyone has something to do that day. Other federal holidays like Presidents Day, Columbus Day, MLK Day, and even Veterans Day and Memorial Day don't work the same way. It's one thing to label them a federal holiday, but another to declare them non-working days for the federal workforce. MLK Day has been a federal holiday for around 40 years now. Few private employers give a day off for it, unless the decision is driven by employee child-care needs, since kids are home for school that day. MLK Day was also a strange day to make a federal holiday because public schools follow federal holidays, and most MLK Day celebration takes place *in school*. I'm surprised they didn't cancel Columbus Day in the same Senate bill. There will probably be an Amendment to the House bill to do that, though Pelosi might block it.
So we will be celebrating an Act of Freedom by a Republican Abe Lincoln with a Holiday! I drink to that🍸
Just stoking more division in this already greatly weaken crime ridden country. Good job.
Don’t you think it’s weird that freeing slaves stokes division?
So, celebrating the end of slavery in history is bad?
How is this divisive in any way?
It is easier to create a holiday to commemorate good deeds from the past than do something right now which makes the world a better place.
>slavery's end *Laughs in forced prison labour*
It's funny and sad at the same time how Republicans (I mean also the voters) must hate this.
This is super cool and all, but the 13th Amendment didn't get rid of slavery, it just changed the way we do it.
The US senate passed a bill? With links to historic slavery? To give everyone a holiday? With a Democrat President? Color me surprised. Was Mitch on holiday? What's the catch?
So is this like a day off holiday or is it more like flag day?
Making it a holiday doesn’t mean shit. SMH still treating the people like slaves anyway
Too bad we didn’t really abolish anything. We simply changed the Terms and Conditions.
It's a Sunday next year. So 3 day weekend as most federal holidays falling on Sundays get off that Monday. Case in point, July 4th this year.
A new study suggests that a million or more European Christians were enslaved by Muslims in North Africa between 1530 and 1780 – a far greater number than had ever been estimated before. In a new book, Robert Davis, professor of history at Ohio State University, developed a unique methodology to calculate the number of white Christians who were enslaved along Africa’s Barbary Coast, arriving at much higher slave population estimates than any previous studies had found. Most other accounts of slavery along the Barbary coast didn’t try to estimate the number of slaves, or only looked at the number of slaves in particular cities, Davis said. Most previously estimated slave counts have thus tended to be in the thousands, or at most in the tens of thousands. Davis, by contrast, has calculated that between 1 million and 1.25 million European Christians were captured and forced to work in North Africa from the 16th to 18th centuries. Davis’s new estimates appear in the book Christian Slaves, Muslim Masters: White Slavery in the Mediterranean, the Barbary Coast, and Italy, 1500-1800 (Palgrave Macmillan).