What does Juneteenth mean for southwest IL? Local activists celebrate accomplishments
Federally, Juneteenth will be recognized for the second year in 2022 as the day commemorating the emancipation of enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas, in 1865.
The holiday is June 19, and people in southwest Illinois have been celebrating it with an organized community event for more than a decade. This will be the first year, however, Juneteenth is officially recognized as an Illinois holiday.
Stephanie Taylor, founder of the Illinois Juneteenth Committee, said East St. Louis and St. Clair County activists were pivotal in the decision by state officials to formally designate the holiday.
“We find this to be momentous now, that we will watch Juneteenth national flags go up in several communities,” Taylor said. “St. Clair County was the first to acknowledge the holiday…across Illinois. And then it was Cook County.”
While the metro-east led Illinois’ journey toward recognizing Juneteenth, the state is also one of the few in the nation that pay government employees to take the day off. Texas, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York and Georgia also designate Juneteenth as a paid state holiday.
“We’re extremely happy because we know Illinois continues to be a trendsetter for the United States of America,” Taylor said.
In addition to the historical context, the Juneteenth flag is an important symbol for people to understand, Taylor said. The theme is red, white and blue, and there’s a star sitting on the curved line between the colors.
“We wouldn’t dare divert from the red, white and blue, because we are part of America. We are part of the blood, sweat and tears, and we demand acknowledgment for the work we have done and the rich history that we’ve contributed to, as well as the up and coming leaders that we grow today,” Taylor said.
The star represents a new freedom that’s bursting over the horizon, Taylor continued.
While the recognition of Juneteenth as a federal and state holiday in Illinois is a tremendous accomplishment, Taylor said Americans should now focus on reforming institutions.
The first area Taylor said activists should tackle is education. While the academic and legal framework of critical race theory tends to turn heads and garner inflamed reactions from some, Taylor said what’s important to focus on is equitable, diverse education.
“By injecting (an) equity lens in our school systems and ensuring that it is there, strategically, we give our children the OK to operate in equitable and diverse settings and to talk about what they would do if they were a Latino, how their family structure is as a Native American,” Taylor said.
Reparations are the next step, Taylor said. To her, reparations should focus on repairing inequitable systems.
“Right what has been put there strategically to cause harm to all people,” Taylor said.
Reparations in the form of a one-time cash infusion would be a temporary solution, Taylor said, but systems of banking, hiring, lending, schools and housing all need deep fixes to address the root of economic inequality between people of marginalized ethnicities and white people.
“Maybe Lady Liberty needs to take her blinders off so she can address these freaking laws that need to be changed,” Taylor said. “Maybe she needs to be held more accountable, that could be what the problem is.”
Taylor also identified the filibuster of women’s and minority rights and gerrymandering in southwest Illinois as political issues in need of reform.
Changes are needed in U.S. institutions, Taylor said, and those who are concerned about the country’s inequities should focus on political efficacy.
“And if we could get more people to understand that their voice matters, and that it’s important to vote,” Taylor said. “That’s why we say we work toward solutions we can all live with. It’s not just for some people, it’s for all people.”
Juneteenth events will be celebrated in East St. Louis June 18 and June 19. Nobel Peace Prize nominee Opal Lee will open the weekend with a 2.5-mile walk, to represent the 2.5 years enslaved Black people in Galveston waited to hear of their freedom. East St. Louis is one of 12 cities Lee, 95, will march through this year.
There will also be a Juneteenth flag-raising, motorcade, live entertainment, food and more.
This story was originally published June 18, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
