I will try not to focus this Juneteenth article on the enormous negativity that currently permeates our country and the erasure that has already begun by removing contemporary Black people from their hard-earned jobs but also removing Black heroes and heroines from their hard-earned places in American history. Neither will I forget the disrespected people categorized as immigrants who are imprisoned, forced to leave this country or losing their lives with unbelievable cruelty. White poor people are getting poorer, increasingly in rural areas too.

Are you thinking there are so many outrageous actions, so many offenses, so many political shenanigans that one cannot keep up with the long continuous list? Conversations now too often start, “Have you heard what happened today to human beings, or the constitution or yet another political or global tragedy” and the list could go on and on. It is a fact that 2026 is increasingly horrible. Yet there remain significant times during this year in this country, when people gather and create events of absolute wonder and love.

The celebration of Juneteenth in Madison is a symbol of one people’s freedom from enslavement, but Juneteenth can and should be celebrated as the freedom available for all people experiencing injustice anywhere. The determination to never be owned, controlled, or subdued is a human birthright. Our story is like your racial and cultural stories, although the liberation details are unique for each of us.

The Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, on paper, legally ended US slavery, while the surrender of the beaten and conquered southern states in the Civil War, which was in 1865, permanently abolished US slavery. Black people in Galveston, Texas did not get this news, and were still owned and suppressed until a Union General and soldiers enforced their rights. In return for this late gift of freedom, African Americans created Juneteenth Day, on June 19, 1865, as a permanent reminder of freedom.

Despite the current administration, despite the reversed interpretation of Title IX, despite the inability of the government to respectfully acknowledge Native American sovereign nations, despite lack of funding, despite the cruelty we witness against innocent people speaking other languages, freedom is a powerful heartbeat that will never be stopped. There are more Juneteenth activities in Madison throughout the month, culminating with Kujichagulia’s Juneteenth Parade and Celebration in Penn Park on Saturday, June 20th. Make sure to celebrate our freedom, invite families, friends and allies to join too. Most importantly, let us understand as Joliana, my seven-year-old great niece said, “freedom is precious.”