Is Juneteenth a black thing?

 It goes without saying that black people are very happy for the freedom of our ancestors and by extension the freedom from slavery American Africans enjoy today. For hundreds of years, Africans turned African Americans labored to help build this nation receiving little more than room and board in return. They labored so long that when word first began to circulate among the slave population there was little hope their day of freedom would actually come.

But on June 19th, 1865 the words written in Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation would reach the slaves in the deep south, and not long after that, the 13th Amendment would put an end to slavery everywhere in the United States. By the time the first official Juneteenth Celebration happened on June 19th, 1866 freedom from slavery in the U.S. was finally a reality no one slave, slave owner, or slave merchant could deny.

In my opinion, Juneteenth is not just a "black thing" or not just a black celebration. Juneteenth is an American Celebration and a valuable part of American History. June 19th, 1865 was another independence day celebration, one that, unlike July 4th, 1776 included everyone in this nation. And as I always point out Juneteenth is and was a celebration for all of the white, Indian, and other nationality abolitionists who worked alongside black abolitionists to keep the wheels of the underground railroad turning in the direction of freedom.

Keep in mind that the abolitionist was also in a fight for freedom too. Assisting runaway slaves was against the law. To a big part of America, the abolitionist was considered no more than a well-organized band of thieves intent on relieving slave merchants and slave owners of their paid-for and inherited property. To participate in helping runaway slaves reach freedom abolitionists risked losing their freedom, their property, and in several cases their lives.

To the abolitionists, Juneteenth and the eventual passing of the 13th Amendment meant that white clergy, farmers, and businessmen no longer had to risk all of the above. In no way do the abolitionist's struggles equal the struggle of a people forced into slavery but for those who chose to do more than simply protest or write letters to politicians and hope. Those who chose to be abolitionists chose to put some of their own skin in the game when it came to the task of making sure that all who lived in, and who helped build this nation, could be free and protected by this nation's laws.

John Brown and his sons, who gave their lives for the anti-slavery cause, I believe, would most certainly celebrate Juneteenth, the end of slavery. His plan was to arm slaves and fight with them against the slave owners, merchants, and the powers-that-be failed, but his efforts did show a nation that not only were some white people willing to arm black people but also fight with them to end slavery.

If you choose to ignore all of the contributions and sacrifices made by all the non-African Americans like John Brown and others that led to the Civil War, Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, Juneteenth, and the 13th Amendment you discount some valuable U.S. History. I say the Juneteenth Celebration could be an all-black thing if it weren't for all the other different skin colors involved in its creation.