As we have seen thus far, June is an important month for celebrating and learning about the struggles on the path to equity for a number of groups of people.
If you haven’t yet learned about Juneteenth (June 19th), you are not alone. Even though it is a day that has deserved recognition for over the last 150 years, it is a day that has only in 2021 received federal holiday status in the United States – here is a short introduction;
Although Juneteenth is officially an American holiday, in North America, slavery was upheld by the British. As a former British Colony, in 2021, Canada also adopted its own Emancipation day as August 1.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/8/1/canada-marks-first-ever-nationwide-emancipation-day
And although being recognized on the federal calendar is a significant form of endorsement, it will remain to be symbolic if not accompanied by actionable lessons learned.
It is important to remember that the remnants of North America’s history has paved the path of systemic racism still present in our every day. As such these holidays should serve as a reminder that we need to keep working towards meaningful and impactful justice, equity, diversity and inclusion, through training and enforceable policies.
WCVM DIVERSE 