June 19 or September 22 as a holiday??

June 19th is tomorrow and this year it’s rather sensitive given the incidents of racism in Minnesota, Georgia, Kentucky, and the three black men who have ‘committed suicide’ by hanging, not to mention Congressional shenanigans trying to block action on police abuse against blacks.

The day is known in the black community as “Juneteenth” and is a celebration based on the day Texas was informed of the end of the Confederacy and the end of slavery (finally) in the United States. It has been celebrated for more than a century with everything from readings of the Emancipation Proclamation to art festivals and talent competitions–rightfully (which should be obvious) since a whole bunch of people don’t get the concept of equal rights.

Now there’s a movement to make Juneteenth a national holiday. I think that’s a mistake and I’ll explain why. It is not because of what it celebrates, but for practical reasons.

1 – June 14th is already an established holiday that won’t be going anywhere–it’s the birthday of the American flag and is also tied up with the founding of the US Army. There are no holidays within five days of one another (even Christmas/New Years is seven)

2 – It’s June, a time when kids are on vacation and there’s no big deal about an extra day off.

The values of Juneteenth are important, though, so–is there an alternative available?

I think September 22nd would do nicely. 9/22 is the day that Lincoln published the Emancipation Proclamation. Without that, the Civil War doesn’t become about the complete destruction of slavery. The Proclamation is the first objective step to make it a war of abolition.

9/22 is also good because it is during the school year. This creates an opportunity for education, when kids are all in school so that there can be discussion of civil rights, the history of slavery, the value of civil protest. (I think a federal holiday is great, but I wouldn’t want schools to have the day off–this holiday NEEDS to be educational…not a day for video games at home).

Putting it in September would also put it (roughly) half a year away from ML King Jr Day—so that there’s something to jog peoples’ minds each semester.

This is all just a thought. I think June 19th–if made a holiday–will get lost in the Memorial Day-Flag Day-4th of July mix. Just as important–putting it at the end of September allows us to get rid of Columbus Day (which is a silly holiday…there’s no reason to court Italian immigrant voters now in the 21st century) so that we can add a holiday of current value at a place on the calendar where we can also get rid of a worthless holiday.

The catch with switching to September 22? It doesn’t account for emotional attachment to June 19th. I’m looking for a way to get it made federal with limited resistance to its ideals. Is that possible? Or does the celebration need to remain where it is because of the emotional attachment?