I’ll be honest, I’d never heard of Juneteenth until today. Maybe I’m ignorant but you can put it down to the fact I’m pasty white British guy rather than an African American. So this is one national celebration which has eluded me until now.
But today IS Juneteenth, the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. 26 U.S. states have now recognized Juneteenth as a state holiday, so we’re halfway there.
It seems I’m not alone in never having heard of Juneteenth though, no matter how long this annual marking of an important event has been held for. This PSA, made by a white guy, suggests many black people also don’t know what Juneteenth is.
I’m not sure this PSA is the best way of educating people about Juneteenth and what it stands for because it ends up making black people look ignorant. I’m sure that wasn’t the intention but that’s how it plays.
