Juneteenth: A Federal Holiday and a Country in Denial

From the Juneteenth Step and Show Drumline Competition this year in Miami, FL. (thanks Mom!)

Today is Juneteenth and just as I predicted this newly added Federal holiday has quickly been met with contempt by a portion of this country that continues to refuse not just history but its residual affects on society. I wrote about my skepticism last year. It’s a holiday evoking denial, confusion, and anger in people who refuse to understand what it all means.

We Are Still Tired.

I wrote this post two years ago. TWO. It still holds true today, because our lives matter and this kind of violence should not only be condemned immediately, but there need to be real, tangible ways to mitigate this kind of thinking. We are tired. We are tired of having to explain, experience, and endure white supremacy with little to nothing be done to rectify the situation. There is a real need for facing what this ugliness is that we’re seeing around the country, WHITE SUPREMACY.

Nevermind. Let's Focus On Something Else...

I wrote a blog post a few days ago about The Slap™️ and found myself revising and republishing, revisiting and rethinking, rewriting and reducing the text to a point where it just felt futile to keep it up. I took it down because I don’t want to be another voice in this exhausting conversation and in all honestly I have no genuine feelings about the aftermath or feel my opinion is relevant/important. It really just felt embarrassing to weigh in that extensively, so I have taken it down and feel like it was a mistake to publish. There are plenty of other think pieces out there that have a better handle on the situation and are much more thoughtful about the subject matter.

A Slap to Remember...

I cannot believe that this is what is bringing me out of my blogging hibernation, but I have seen so many ill-informed and straight up strange takes on this fleeting event. It truly boggles my mind what people fixate on. If you haven’t heard, which honestly, good for you if you haven’t, last night at the (dying) Oscars awards show Chris Rock was presenting the Best Documentary award and as he does threw in some jokes. There was one ad-lib in particular that incited Will Smith to get up from his front-row seat and slap Chris across the face, turn, and jog back to his seat so casually. It was like he just finished a transaction at a drug store, left his car on, so quickly needed to get back. All in all it was a truly underwhelming moment that left most viewers confused and questioning if the entire incident was a skit. It wasn’t.

Black History Month || Critical Race Theory

This country can continue to put bandaids on open wounds and make empty promises, but nothing will fundamentally change when it comes to race relations without a serious look at how racism is so engrained in our society. Nothing will fully mend until we face our history, structural racism, and lack of nuanced thinking when it comes to healing and talking about race.

I feel like I’ve had this conversation and regurgitated the above sentiment ad nauseam, but until there is significant change in the way we operate and discuss racism, it still needs to be repeated. I’ll never stop saying it.

It’s increasingly clear just how opposed this country is to rectifying the past or trying to build a better future due to the outrageous reactions to Critical Race Theory (CRT). I want to start this off by saying nobody is teaching 5 year olds Critical Race Theory.