Juneteenth.

June 19th 2020 “Tupac Shakur, “Changes (feat. Talent)”

Juneteenth.

Usually I would be full of words, I thought I would spill them all over this blog for you all to rave over. I thought I would say so many anecdotes and jokes to humor you to divert your attention from the craziness that we are experiencing. I thought I’d write Pulitzer prize winning words, and receive critical acclaim.

That’s not going to happen. 

I’m going to ramble. I might stumble over my words a little. I might even break down in the middle of typing this.

(Mercury is in Retrograde; Mother Nature is in Me. Sorry not Sorry)

Juneteenth. A midsummer celebration of the physical release of enslaved Black people in this country. Apparently... Supposedly, the slave masters in Texas didn’t receive the word that slavery was over. So, we celebrate this event of true “liberation” for our enslaved ancestors. I put liberation in quotes because, we obviously know Mr. Jim Crow (and his lesser known, but equally violent sister, Jane Crow) decided to grace the world with their evolved anti-Black violence.

With Miss CoRona Virus exposing the incompetence and ignorance of the “all-superior” United States of America, many of us are diving into the Black community to analyze the behaviors we have normalized and ignored. From colorism to sexual violence to respectability politics, Black Americans are having the uncomfortable, and some-what straining, conversations that assert 2020 as the “year of perfect vision” 

Now more than ever, we are aware that the ways we are conditioned to show up in this world were defined and enforced by individuals invested in our destruction. White supremacy, or more accurately named white delusion and inferiority, entraps the melaninated skins of our physical bodies under a lense of violence and hate. We’ve internalized this violence, perpetuating it amongst ourselves and others. Often, we have unconsciously and actively participated in the destruction of ourselves in others by engaging with the violent systems created to keep us oppressed. Let's talk about it. 

Throughout the past few weeks, Black Americans around the country have put their lives on the line through protesting and advocacy. There is an understanding that to truly bring about change, there must be radical action and strategy; however, there have been conflicting views on what Black lives matter and how to enact change for those Black lives. On one hand, some Black people believe that through peaceful protesting and litigation, reformation of the corrupt judicial system can occur. On the other hand, many Black people are adopting an abolitionist mindset. In “Are Prisons Obsolete” by Angela Davis she asserts that,

The prisons [therefore] functions ideologically as an abstract site which undesirables are deposited, relieving us of the responsibility of thinking of the real issues afflicting those communities from which prisoners are drawn in such disproportionate numbers.

Instead of fixing the broken and anti-Black systems within our society, the prison industrial complex and the judicial system created a necessity out of housing “criminals” and using them for unpaid labor. While chattel slavery in its original context is abolished, the 13th amendment allows enslavement '“if convicted of a crime”. This loophole is the foundation of mass incarceration and over-policing of the Black community. It also aids in criminalizing the effects of ineffective public policy and government assistance (crime, violence, etc.). If this is known information, how do we navigate gaining justice for those murdered and chained into and through this system? Do we infiltrate it? Do we abolish it? Do we reform it? What does justice look like?

If we have to interrogate the systems that confine us, we also have to interrogate the beliefs and actions that reinforce and enable these systems. Under white “supremacy”, we internalize a wide array of violent beliefs. From classism, racism, sexism to homophobia/transphobia, we abide by constricting views of our humanity that are divisive and harmful to our existence. Are we prepared to dismantle these ideologies? For, they have not served us well. Are we prepared to engaged in theory, which will evolve into practice, and inevitably bring about change? Are we prepared to be uncomfortable?

This Juneteenth, I would love for us all to celebrate the legacy of our ancestors. I want us to be enveloped by their protection, grace, and wisdom. I want the words of our ancestors both living and dead to resonate with us all, giving us the motivation and knowledge necessary to move forward in these trying times. 2020 is the year of perfect vision and enlightenment, and I hope everyone takes the appropriate measures to brace themselves for the radical change to come.

Read. Watch. Listen. Understand. Apply.

Breathe.

Save me a plate too :)