Stay woke, especially after Juneteenth

I didn’t grow up celebrating Juneteenth.

My family hails from Jamaica and I grew up in New York. The first time I heard the word ‘Juneteenth’ was probably four years ago after I had already moved to the Austin area.

While Juneteenth is an official state holiday in Texas and is recognized by all but three states in the US, the holiday has received a significant uptick in recognition and planned observance.

Why?

I don’t actually know. Some may say that it aligns with the recognition of marked injustice suffered by blacks. Others might say that it represents a deliberate action to acknowledge and popularize black history.

Whatever the reason, despite having never celebrated Juneteenth myself, I’m having the same feelings as I did about the use of the term “woke.”

Whether Juneteenth has been co-opted by companies who hashtagged #BLM or #BlackLivesMatter over the last few weeks, but have no clear, actionable and/or time-bound plan to change the fact that not one of their senior leadership members (save potentially, a Chief Diversity Officer) is black, is not up to me to judge.

I do, however, encourage you to watch what happens after Juneteenth.

The work is not done. The work is far from done. The work may have just gotten started.

But despite what your employer is doing on June 19th. Whether they’ve changed their logo or the css styles on their website to shades of black; whether their statement on black lives continues to generate engagement and shares; or whether they’ve given you a paid holiday — do what you will on June 19th.

But Monday, June 22nd, you’ll be back at work. The css styles will revert to their original theme. The fire drills will resume. The next press release about the latest industry trends will replace last week’s post.

Black businesses and nonprofits still need dollars to operate. Power still needs to be ceded to dismantle white supremacy. White saviorism still needs to be subverted. Inequity still needs to be called out loudly and unabashedly.

The work is not done.

Stay woke, especially after Juneteenth.