Juneteenth is now a National Holiday.
We have a lot to celebrate, but there are a multitude of setbacks.
What setbacks, you ask? There are too many to list, but, perhaps, the most recent one rewrites history - literally.
I'm talking about the ban in 5+ states, including Tennessee, preventing "critical race theory" from being taught in schools.
You can read about this in the news by clicking here.
When I was a child in middle school in a small town in Tennessee our assistant principal was also our history teacher. Not only did he insist that slavery had nothing to do with race, he persuaded everyone that all slaves were treated respectfully as family. We were tested frequently us on these "facts," which didn't even align with our current history book. I wasn't surprised or phased that he had the Sons of Confederate Soldiers come in to our school auditorium to give a presentation. However, at the end of the presentation we were forced to pledge allegiance to the Confederate Flag. My black friend and I were called out by the confederate sons, as well as the assistant principal and several hundred of our white peers in our large auditorium to pledge our allegiance. We did not stand for the Confederate Flag, and we did not pledge allegiance to the Confederate Flag.
As parents in my new town, Chattanooga, fill school board meetings demanding that abstinence only education be taught in schools, hiding the truth in a multitude of areas in schools seems to be "on trend."
One step forward. Two hundred steps back. Happy Juneteenth.
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