Juneteenth: A Federal Holiday - We Need An American Apology

As the war wages on between those who want Critical Race Theory (CRT) taught and those who want to stick their fingers in their ears and sing the national anthem, the Senate has voted on making Juneteenth a federal holiday. The House still has to vote to make it official, but obvs it’ll pass.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am excited about the acknowledgement that Juneteenth exists and will be recognized on a national level BUT miss me with that bs it’s somehow enough to have a day off without understanding why…

Back to Normal?! NoOoOoOO

As more and more of the country becomes vaccinated and we move towards the hot girl summer we’d been robbed of last year, I’ve been hearing more and more people relieved we’re getting back to normal. While I, too am looking forward to hugging my family and traveling without constant, looming thoughts of sickness and death (they’re now more interspersed), I am not looking forward to the apathy that I can already see settling into the country. Going back to normal means a lot of things in different contexts, but as a whole going back to the way things were before the pandemic doesn’t sound entirely appealing to me. Going into an office every single day, riding the subway for hours a week, going to parties where you know two people and cling to them for dear life, scrunched in a sea of people at a concert unable to dance wildly like the music asks.

Happy Mother's Day: I love you, mothers.

I’ve been raised and surrounded by women in my family who had such a significant affect on how I view the world and their lives have truly shaped mine. Their rich lives are full of cautionary tales, inspirational events, devastating hardships, hilarious happenings, fleeting romances, epic revelations, harrowing loss, complicated relationships, and throughout it all full of determination and love. I won’t name names, because my family tends to be extremely private, but I do want to share some moments in time with the mothers who have heavily impacted me.

Virtually Insensitive

The pandemic has completely upended how we work and it’s been interesting to see how companies have dealt with this unavoidable shift. The world around us is not something employees and employers alike can ignore. Previous environments I’ve worked in have impacted me in ways I didn’t fully realize until after I left. There were places I’ve worked where colleagues said inappropriate things about race and class, treated me slightly differently than my white counterparts, and leaders who took positions of indifference about who was allowed used their product/services that I didn’t agree with. All of my experiences (good and bad) have informed how I navigate the workplace now- safely and with intention. I refuse to silence myself to make others comfortable.

The Verdict. The Violence. The Vileness.

While I am glad to see justice finally done, it took a 9-minute recording of George Floyd’s death, an entire movement, and thousands of people demanding accountability for Derek Chauvin to make it happen. There are countless other instances where the police have been able to avoid justice, because the judicial system is intrinsically biased towards cops. The police as a whole are still able to terrorize communities even though this one officer is thankfully getting put away.

As the entire world watched the trial that would determine whether this country would go up in instant flames or instead be relieved for a short while, another shooting occurred. We are immediately back where we started or more accurately, in the same situation we’ve continued to be in for centuries. Relief isn’t something we can bask in when the police are still roaming the streets with evil trigger fingers and increasing malice.