Celebrating Juneteenth Amid Resurging Fascism 160 Years Later
Source: MARK FELIX / Getty
Juneteenth offers a time of celebration and reflection as we consider what it means to be free amid resurgent fascism in America. While the current political moment may feel unprecedented to some people, 160 years after the Black people in Galveston, Texas, learned of emancipation, Black Americans are still fighting for freedom, liberation, and self-determination. This year's Juneteenth celebrations take place against the backdrop of a federal government covered in fascism and hostile toward these core tenets of a free society.
Despite the persisting attacks on multiple fronts, Black organizers and communities see opportunity in celebrating this moment as we continue to push onward. Brianna Brown, co-director of the Texas Organizing Project (TOP), noted that Juneteenth serves as a poignant reminder of Black resistance and resilience.
'Celebrating freedom 160 years after General Order No. 3 signifies our commitment to a legacy of resistance and vision,' Brown said. 'It reminds us that liberation didn't arrive solely because Union soldiers came to Galveston. It came because enslaved Black people never stopped dreaming, resisting, and moving toward freedom.'
Brown said that Juneteenth offers an opportunity for Black Americans to write a new chapter, even as we combat re-emerging forms of white supremacy, such as book bans, state violence, voter suppression, and anti-Black curriculum, to name a few.
Akinyele Umoja, an African American Studies professor at Georgia State, echoed Brown's sentiment about the importance of recognizing the role enslaved Black people played in their emancipation. Umoja pointed to what W.E.B. Dubois called the general strike of enslaved Black people, which in part led to emancipation.
'I understand and appreciate folks in Texas really embracing it as emancipation or Jubilee day, because I do think that was an important mark for our people coming out of chattel slavery,' Umoja said. 'Particularly recognizing in the role that our ancestors played in that, whether it was what Dubois called the great general strike when Black people refused to work or escape after the Emancipation Proclamation over the Union line.'
Reflecting on the legacy of Juneteenth and independence, he noted the small community in Mexico that has celebrated Juneteenth since the news spread 160 years ago. Source: The Washington Post / Getty
'I found out a few years ago that some Juneteenth is celebrated in Mexico amongst descendants of Black Seminoles who escaped over into Mexico to escape enslavement once Texas became a white settler state,' he said. 'So, it gave me even more significance. I see it as an important mark of that struggle that our ancestors had.'
During the interview, Umoja drew a throughline from settler colonialism, slavery, and apartheid in the United States as a part of the foundation of American fascism to the current attacks on justice and equity by the Trump administration and broader MAGA movement.
For Umoja, commemorating Juneteenth—and the critical struggle of our ancestors and compounding harms over the 160 years post-end of American chattel slavery—offers another opportunity to discuss reparations and restitution for generational harm endured by Black Americans who are descendants of enslaved people in North America.
'For us now, what's important is for us to have a free discussion in our community about what freedom is, what liberation is,' he said. 'It might be tied to questions like, what type of health care we receive, and the economic system we want to have? What does education look like? What does the curriculum look like? All of these different questions should come up in our community. We should have the right to have those discussions free of interference from folks who are descendants of people who benefited from our enslavement, the captivity, and people who might have benefited from us being segregated and isolated.'
The extractive violence and terror currently being inflicted by the Trump administration are in some ways reminiscent of the generational terror Black people endured before and after emancipation. Hooded individuals, deputized by the law, snatch people away from their loved ones with little to no recourse, no trial, and no due process.
Understanding the connection of our struggle with the broader threat posed by the resurgent project of American fascism also demands that we embrace intentional solidarity. TOP's work in organizing and building power for Black and Latino Texans demonstrates the interconnection of liberation. Brown described solidarity as a practice that requires courage and commitment—a necessity for communities impacted by systemic oppression to survive, thrive, and ultimately win.
'The solidarity we build isn't about feel-good moments,' she said. 'It's forged in the trenches of struggle, through strategic collaboration, and in the understanding that our liberation is interconnected. We name anti-Blackness and anti-Latino racism.' Source: Kayla Oaddams / Getty
As Brown notes, solidarity doesn't require grinning and being silent. Organizations like TOP recognize that multiple issues often affect our communities at the same time. Survival and self-determination require a focus on creating a world that is not only suitable for ourselves but also for our friends, neighbors, and the broader community.
'We balance it by refusing to treat our lives like policy silos,' Brown said. 'At TOP, we understand our people don't wake up saying, 'Today I care about democracy. Tomorrow, maybe healthcare.' Our folks live lives that are profoundly connected and intersectional. That's why we fight with both people power and political power on issues that put food on the table and protect our right to shape the future.'
The emancipation of formerly enslaved Black people 160 years ago set the stage for generations of discourse about how we collectively challenge fascism and tyranny in any form. But all the collective proclamations and orders issued during and after the Civil War, as well as the Reconstruction era amendments, failed to secure our place in this country.
And yet, as we witness the chaos and cruelty of the current administration—from targeted ICE actions on communities to the planned robbery of our social safety net to enrich the broligarchy—some wonder whether this is a time for Black people just to fall back and let others handle the fight. But American fascism and state violence have never let us live in peace.
To quote the late organizer and movement steward Ella Baker, 'we who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes.' Freedom and liberation require more than words, orders, and proclamations. Each moment of joy and success has required a sustained endurance and committed resistance that refused to accept the white supremacist status quo.
'Joy is both our inheritance and our fuel,' Brown said. 'Systems of oppression try to make us small, exhausted, and forgetful of our worth. Joy reminds us that we are worthy of more. It tells us we belong. Joy shows us that freedom isn't just about tearing down walls, it's also about building lives filled with dignity.'
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Celebrating Juneteenth Amid Resurging Fascism 160 Years Later was originally published on newsone.com
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