If Juneteenth has recently come to your consciousness, you may be wondering what this holiday is about and why it’s relevant. This year, we at the American Forest Foundation recognize and honor Juneteenth by outlining the history behind the day before it became a federal holiday, how it connects to generations of Black landownership and how one can and should engage with the day.

Before 2020, many people in the United States believed that we had entered into a post-racial society. Given some of the national spotlights that were shone on racial disparities, a heightened awareness of the inaccuracy of that belief increased. In response, President Biden gave federal acknowledgment to a Black holiday known as Juneteenth. This was historic, given that it is one of only two federal holidays with a direct connection to Black history, with the first being Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Though it took a lot of time to get federally recognized, Juneteenth deserves the same national reverence.

Before Juneteenth, the last time a new federal holiday was declared was, in fact, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in the 1980s, and this accomplishment did not come easily or quickly. Congressman John Conyers first suggested making this day a holiday in 1968. The matter wasn’t voted on for another 11 years and, at that time, it failed to pass. Later, Stevie Wonder created the song Happy Birthday to advocate for federal recognition of MLK Day and because of this influence, and many other factors, the House finally passed the measure in 1983.

Listen to the Stevie Wonder tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr, "Happy Birthday"

However, it narrowly passed, and afterwards, many senators pushed back. The next hurdle was getting state ratification. In 1986, when the day was first celebrated, only 17 states had adopted the holiday. In response, the rap group Public Enemy put out the song By the Time I Get to Arizona in protest of the Arizona governor’s vehement opposition to recognizing MLK Day. The final state to ratify the holiday did not do so until the year 2000. Today, MLK Day is now the only U.S. holiday to be designated as a National Day of Service.

Read more and listen to Public Enemy's "By the Time I Get to Arizona"

A Brief Understanding of Juneteenth

Abraham Lincoln is often credited as freeing enslaved people through his signing of The Emancipation Proclamation, but really enslaved people freed themselves. First and foremost, there were many slave rebellions and multiple coordinated efforts to free enslaved people throughout the antebellum years. The Emancipation Proclamation wasn’t signed by Lincoln until 1863 and a common misconception is that this document ended all chattel slavery, but it only served to free enslaved people in areas that were still in rebellion during the Civil War. This effort on Lincoln’s part was not made for moral reasons, but rather as an attempt to end the war and keep the Union intact.

Learn more about the many contributions of Black soldiers during the Civil War

It took two more years for the Civil War to end and then two more months of delays due to Texas farmers wanting one more harvest out of enslaved people. It wasn’t until June 19th, 1865, two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, that enslaved people in Texas were informed that they were free.

Now, each year on June 19th, Black folks come together to celebrate Juneteenth, or Emancipation Day. This day, for us, commemorates the struggles of our Black ancestors and everything they did on their journey to freedom.

Six months after Texan enslaved people were notified that the war was over, the 13th amendment was ratified. This amendment outlawed slavery with one key exception for “the punishment of a crime.” Because of this exception and systemic racism, Black people in the United States are still dealing with what Michelle Alexander describes as The New Jim Crow. Given the legality of enslaving people for “the punishment of a crime,” we are now living in an era of mass incarceration where Black people are being criminalized, imprisoned and thus enslaved at troubling rates. Many prisons pay nothing for prison labor and others pay very little, further emphasizing that Black people in our time are being forced to work for free in a system of modern day slavery.

Why Black Landownership and Juneteenth Matter to AFF’s Work

AFF’s Family Forest Carbon Program is making Black landownership a key part of our diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ) strategic planning to account for the ongoing impacts of slavery, segregation, and discrimination in both landownership and generational wealth.

AFF recognizes that landownership and generational wealth for the Black community are far lower than for white counterparts. According to the Federal Reserve Bank, white Americans hold about 87% of the wealth in the United States while making up 68% of households. Meanwhile, Black Americans hold about 3% of the wealth in the United States while making up 13% of the population. This disparity is directly linked to slavery because, according to the U.S. Department of Treasury, the wealth of younger generations is strongly correlated to the wealth of their ancestors (i.e., parents passing along wealth to their children).

Further, the transfer of property and land to heirs is one of the primary means of passing wealth between generations. However, as we know, during slavery, and for a period of time after, Black people were not allowed to own land. And, in the years since then, a number of measures have been taken which have hindered Black landownership and contributed to Black land loss.

With this in mind, it is critical for AFF and other organizations to take time to celebrate and recognize the end of chattel slavery and Juneteenth as critical and central to their conservation work.

Honoring Juneteenth with Service

Black people have been celebrating Juneteenth long before President Biden declared it a federal holiday in 2021, but even with this declaration, there is more left to do. Because of its newfound governmental holiday status, capitalism has reared its ugly head, prioritizing profit over reverence. One such example is an HBCU graduate getting into a trademark battle over the holiday with a white-led corporation. Another example is the use of imagery that negates the spirit of the holiday.

While Juneteenth has a rich history, it is unfortunately still not officially proclaimed as a National Day of Service. So, how does one acknowledge and celebrate Juneteenth in meaningful ways? Firstly, treat it as a day of service, not a day off.

Other things that folks can do are:

1. Explore the Better Than We Found It Book Prison Toolkit, for ways to learn about mass incarceration and how to combat it.

2. Since Black folks never received their promised 40 acres and a mule, which is one of the contributing factors to the wealth gap and landownership disparities in the United States, spend time learning about and advocating for reparations.

3. Donate to organizations who are doing work toward Black liberation and participate in crowd-funding against injustice.

4. If you do purchase items to celebrate, get Juneteenth paraphernalia from Black-owned companies and consider buying Black-owned products year-round.

5. Visit Attorney Ben Crump’s Action Center and get involved.

This blog post is meant to help us all better understand the lived experiences of Black people and how their history has influenced our country's land ownership and generational wealth. AFF is in its early stages of integrating our commitments to diversity, equity, inclusion, justice (DEIJ) through every aspect of our work, remaining steadfastly centered in serving people and the planet.