No doubt about it: Juneteenth is a joyful celebration of liberty. It’s also a flashpoint for an increasingly vituperative battle in America’s culture wars.
What’s the story behind Juneteenth? Why do some love it and others loathe it?
Let’s step back in time.
Juneteenth – a melding of June and Nineteenth – commemorates June 19, 1865, the day Union Troops reached Galveston, Texas and informed the city’s Black residents that slavery had ended with the declaration of the Emancipation Proclamation two years earlier.
Texas had kept people enslaved even after the Proclamation and the end of the Civil War. Union General Gordon Granger arrived and read General Order No. 3, he was delivering justice – long delayed and incomplete, yes, but still a monumental step forward in the nation’s often-troubled history of race relations.
How Black Communities Kept Juneteenth Alive
Slavery had been brutally imposed. Now, newly-freed people turned June 19th into a day of merriment, remembrance, and autonomy. Not even systemic segregation could stop it. If many public spaces were for whites only, Juneteenth was observed in church yards, open fields, and backyards. A cultural tradition among Black Texans, it eventually spread across the country through the Great Migration.
From Grassroots to National Holiday
For years, Juneteenth remained a local or regional celebration. Thanks to activists and elders like Opal Lee – who at the age of 89 walked from Texas to Washington, D.C. to bring attention to the quest for recognition of Juneteenth as a national holiday – 2021 saw that dream become a reality. President Biden signed legislation making Juneteenth a federal holiday, the first new one since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was established in 1983.
The Corporate Co-Opt
Within a year of federal recognition, “Juneteenth” was being exploited commercially.
Walmart released a “Juneteenth Celebration Edition” red velvet ice cream in 2022…and received immediate backlash. Critics pointed out that the dessert wasn’t made in partnership with Black-owned businesses. Walmart pulled the ice cream off its shelves, but that didn’t soothe the raw emotions the product had prompted.
Target has also been scrutinized. While the company initially made strong Juneteenth and DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) commitments, it later cut diversity roles following political pressure and boycotts. It’s a pattern some see as symbolic of a larger trend: performative allyship when it’s convenient, retreat when it’s not. Check out what Bernice King has to say about it. In 2017 Bernice King – daughter of civil rights legend Dr. Martin Luther King – posted ten ways to fight back against Republican misrule on her FaceBook page.
Brands Backtracking on DEI
Walmart and Target aren’t alone. Several other companies have made high-profile retreats from DEI initiatives, even while ostensibly celebrating Juneteenth or Black History Month.
● Starbucks was accused of retaliation after employees were reprimanded for discussing racial injustice.
● Amazon has faced internal criticism over racial equity in hiring and promotions while making public-facing DEI statements.
● Disney scaled back parts of its DEI programming in 2023 following lawsuits and political controversy.
● Google laid off members of its DEI teams earlier this year amid broader tech layoffs.
It’s not hard to see why these hall-of-fame racists suffer major credibility problems. They’ll talk the talk but are suddenly diagnosed with bone spurs when it’s time to walk the walk.
What’s Being Lost
As Juneteenth gains visibility, the conversation shifts from remembrance to revenue. It was created to celebrate freedom, not Juneteenth cupcakes or Liberty Limoncello. It was and remains a way to honor survival and resistance. Whoring it out for bucks is one more example of ripping off Black culture and disguising it – or trying to – as a gesture of welcome and inclusion.
If corporations truly want to help celebrate Juneteenth, here’s what they’ve got to do:
● Partner with Black creators and suppliers
● Invest in racial equity, not just saying they support it
Give employees paid time off to reflect or volunteer
● Support local events or education efforts in meaningful ways
In short, act like Juneteenth matters even when it’s not trending.
What Juneteenth Should Look Like
Juneteenth should be celebrated as it always has. Storytelling. Good food. Family reunions. Music. It should uplift Black-owned businesses, fund community projects, and bring attention to the history that too often gets left out of textbooks.
Juneteenth is American history. It’s a reminder that freedom, even when delayed, is worth getting excited about. The people who carried that legacy for over a century deserve more than themed paper plates. They deserve respect, recognition, and results.
Happy Juneteenth!
