Juneteenth
Dear Editor: As the country finally officially acknowledges Juneteenth I am struck by how hard some factions in our country are trying to prevent our full history from being taught in our schools and how these same groups are working to keep black and brown people from voting. These actions present a real and present danger to our democracy. Prejudice runs deep and government, institutions, and individuals continue to undermine equity by enabling white privilege as evidenced by legislatures preventing our full history from being taught in schools.
I am reading ‘‘The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together’’ by the brilliant Heather McGhee. I highly recommend it to understand more about the intersection of politics, race, and class and the value of multiracial solidarity in allowing government to function for all of us.
In order to embrace the common good rather than push others down to keep white people on top we need to understand our full history as a nation. It is hard to think about the genocide and enslavement that our founders used to build this country but we all need to understand this truth.
Juneteenth has long commemorated the date that the news of the end of slavery finally reached enslaved people in Texas (two years after emancipation) and it is now rightly recognized as a federal holiday. But until we all understand our full history and its lasting ramifications the federal holiday holds little true meaning. I sincerely hope that the Sitka School District will embrace some of these issues by expanding students knowledge through readings like McGhee’s book, ‘‘The 1619 Project’’ by Nikole Hannah-Jones, and by having students watch ‘‘When They See Us,’’ Ava DuVernay’s powerful movie about the Exonerated Five.
Tory O’Connell Curran, Sitka
Clarification:
The story in Friday’s Sentinel on the tourism hearing said “Public comment from Pat Kehoe and Charles Bingham suggested making Lincoln Street one-way and expanding the sidewalks.” The comments were reported in the order of the speakers mentioned, and reflected their individual suggestions, Kehoe’s on making Lincoln one-way, Bingham’s on widening the sidewalks. The Sentinel regrets any misunderstanding.