06/19/2026
Juneteenth does not mark the day of the Emancipation Proclamation; it marks the day the Union military arrived in Galveston, Texas to enforce it. Freedom wasn't granted or passively worked toward, but it was won through struggle against armed slavemasters who had a material interest in denying the humanity of Black people. Just as in Haiti decades before, freedom was only won at the point of a bayonet.
Following the Civil War, Reconstruction promised to reorder the slavocracy and create a just society. This promise was never fulfilled. The vast majority of Black people didn't receive 40 acres and a mule, and they were forced to sell their labor to the same people who had once held them in bo***ge. Their legal rights were restricted, and an apartheid system was established.
While strides toward justice have been made, most notably during the Civil Rights era, justice has not yet been reached. On Juneteenth, we remember this history of struggle and we strengthen our resolve to continue the fight for a better world.
As socialists, we envision a future where all humanity is liberated. A world where we all have democratic control over not only our politics, but over our economies.
