The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So, I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. – Exodus 3:7-9
Hear Today's Words of Hope
On June 19, 1865, Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas. General Order No. 3, read by Union Major General Gordon Granger, informed the people of Texas that all slaves are free. It took nearly two years for that message of emancipation to reach the enslaved in Texas.
For untold months after, slavery persisted until the Juneteenth message made its way throughout Texas, including and especially North Texas.
For decades more, states in the south enacted Jim Crow laws that continued to enforce racial segregation and use the legal system to re-enslave black men and women.
And ever since, the scourge of mass incarceration has continued, voting rights are being rolled back again, bigoted laws and policies are still enforced, and white supremacy and systematic racism continue. In many ways, these sins are flourishing again.
The message of emancipation on June 19, 1865 was a welcomed message of celebration and freedom. But it’s not a message that has reached everyone and everywhere. For as long as the suffering voices of black and brown people cry out to God, Major General Granger’s decree has yet to be realized.
Juneteenth is a cause for celebration. However, we can’t fully celebrate while others are in need of liberation. Liberation from poverty and persecution. Liberation from segregation and evil policies. Liberation from being shot and beaten because of fear and bigotry. Liberation from discrimination and despair.
As we celebrate a holiday that took 114 years to be recognized in Texas and 156 years to become a federal holiday, let us look at: our actions and inactions our words spoken and our words left unspoken
and our benevolent and malevolent attitudes.
The we must ask ourselves if we’re the reason that the message of emancipation is being stalled. And then we must ask ourselves if we can be the reason that the message is made known.
Let us pray,
Emancipating God, who brings freedom to all, we thank you for the celebration of Juneteenth. After a time of celebrating, give us the strength, motivation, fortitude, and courage to continue to fight for social justice, equity, and to dismantle all systems of oppression and supremacy. In hopes that we all shall overcome one day. Amen
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