On June 19 I was cruising down a ramp onto I-88 when in front of me burst a roaring display of fireworks over Rosemont’s skyline. Just like July 4th, I thought, Oh, I forgot what day this is.
It was Juneteenth, a National Holiday. Taking in its importance for the first time, I suddenly realized what the two holidays say about our country. Together they represent the very real American belief in freedom, “that all men are created equal.” Without Juneteenth, the Fourth of July is hollow.
July 4th represents our independence from bondage to a king. It took another century to break the bondage in our own country. June 19, 1865 was the day the last of the enslaved Americans were freed. Federal soldiers marched to Texas to tell them that they had been freed by law two years before. The birth of Juneteenth marked the death of legal slavery in this country. Only then did July 4th mean what it said.
Until the fireworks over Rosemont, I had imagined Juneteenth was important only to Black people. Yet it is a proud landmark in the history of us all. It declares a freedom from what had been our national shame. It openly promises, “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” The original July 4th wanted that meaning, shouted it with fireworks, but missed the mark, with millions of Americans being bought and sold.
When I enjoy my local Aurora Juneteenth celebration this year, I’ll be looking for a few more White faces than last year. It will be an exuberant, musical kids-and-food event, that is not yet discovered by so many who ought to own its message with American pride. Here’s to fireworks for the 19th and the 4th!
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