Juneteenth Reflection from Jackie Peterson
“Just maybe this time there will be change.” These are the words that my 91-year-old dad said to me as we Face-Tmed early one morning during the last week of May and strolled down a not-so-pleasant memory lane. He recalled the ’60s when many people, himself included, courageously marched in cities throughout the country protesting the violence and injustices against black people and demanded equal rights and the end of racial discrimination. We talked about the continuing struggle over decades and the pain and sorrow that we have endured within our own family and as members of the greater family of Black Americans. As our emotions intensified, we stopped recalling the terrifying incidents in our lives, such as the cross-burning on our lawn shortly after moving to a predominately white neighborhood in upstate New York during the early 1980’s. At that point my dad said, “at least we are alive to tell our stories and continue to work for change so that our stories do not become the stories of my great-grandchildren.”
With that, we turned our attention to the reality that it has been a busy season for racism and violence in America! Memorial Day, May 26,2020, was a day that sent shock waves once again throughout the nation. Mr. George Floyd, a black man, lost his right to live in America without harm. Mr. Floyd lost his life that day in Minneapolis and became yet another casualty of the continuing legacy of systemic racism in this country. Just hours earlier, we witnessed a Central Park confrontation between a black man named Christian Cooper and a white woman named Amy Cooper (no relation), while he was out birdwatching. Ms. Cooper, who was walking her dog, falsely reported to police that Mr. Cooper was threatening her life. “Please send cops immediately,” we heard her say in her phone call to police in a video that Mr. Cooper instinctively recorded for his own protection. The video, which went viral, showed that he had only asked her to comply with the posting that dogs be leashed in the park. Mr. Cooper received an apology from Ms. Cooper which is more than I was given in 2019 when I experienced a racial confrontation with a white woman in Saratoga NY that mirrored this incident.
In March 2020, Ms. Breonna Taylor, a black woman in Louisville KY, made the fatal error of sleeping in her own apartment, in her own bed, only to be shot eight times and killed by police, the very people sworn to protect her. Reports of the incident indicate that the police had a no-knock search warrant to enter the apartment in search of drugs which were non-existent. The wrongful death lawsuit filed by the Taylor family suggest that the officers entered the apartment without announcing themselves even after Ms. Taylor who was sleeping yelled out, “who is it”? Fearing that it was an intruder, the person with whom she shared the apartment with fired a shot, causing the officers to open fire. Unfortunately, while equally victimized, Ms. Taylor’s story as well as those of other black women who have been the collateral damage of racial violence; and injustice, are not brought to awareness.
One month prior to the killing of Ms. Taylor, the country viewed the video of another racially motivated confrontation which ended in the death of Mr. Ahmaud Arbery. Reports indicate that Mr. Arbery was pursued, confronted, hit by a truck and then fatally shot by two white residents of the neighborhood as he jogged in a Georgia suburb. Apparently, there had been reports of prior thefts and trespassing incidents in the neighborhood, and Mr. Arbery fit the description of the alleged perpetrator and didn’t look like he belonged there. This only reinforces the necessity to take precautions when “jogging while black.”
As I write this reflection, yet another black family is grieving over the loss of a loved one. On June 12, 2020, the killing of Mr. Rayshard Brook by Atlanta GA, police officers, also captured on video, has led to charges being filed against both those officers.
These stories have been played out in the media, but for every one of these outrageous incidents, there have been thousands that have occurred as a result of what some in America are coming to accept — the country’s history of institutional racism. Our country has been torn apart by pain and anger. But, as my dad said, maybe this time we can come together constructively with actions that will bring about the change that we have waited so long to see. As a friend and colleague reminded me, with the recent unprecedented Supreme Court rulings on LBGTQ rights and DACA, there is hope that we as a people can” reimagine and reconstruct what it means to be American.”
In the spirit of optimism and celebration, let us remember that June 19th is the important, yet unofficial, holiday of Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, and Liberation Day. This was the day in 1865 when the slaves in Galveston, Tex.,were informed that the Emancipation Proclamation had actually been signed in 1863 and that they had been free for two years. While celebrated in 46 states and the District of Columbia, its importance and prominence are especially recognized in the midst of the renewed focus on the plight of Black Americans. The IDEI website has compiled a list of resources for learning more about Juneteenth.
There is also initial information about the upcoming virtual summer series on Anti-Racism. All members of the PC community are invited to the table for conversations, education, and action. Let’s work together to be the change.
— Jackie Peterson
Special Advisor to the President
