I want to wish everyone a Happy Juneteenth. I know some people may be wondering why we need to celebrate this day. Well, it’s because a lot of people less than 200 years ago were enslaved. Their children were taken from them. Their spouses were taken from them. Their family members were sold like property or livestock. It was a very dark period in American history and a lot of people are trying to rewrite because they don’t want their ancestors to be portrayed badly.
On June 18, 1865, Maj. Gen. Gordon Grager ordered the final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas at the end of the American Civil War. But it still took another six months before the 13th Amendment was officially ratified on Dec. 6 of that year. Of course, several states still bitter about the loss even though their leaders could’ve been executed as traitors decided to continue to oppress the former enslaved people for another 100 years before President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act.
However, these are two things that America has been hesitant to bring into law. Black people are still discriminated against in 2024. The 2016 election of Donald Trump as President has been seen by many people, including myself as a total opposition to the election and re-election of Barack Obama. And this year, politicians are hoping to turn back the times. People can ‘t afford rent. There is not a single two-bedroom apartment for rent on a monthly basis in which someone making minimum wage at 40 hours a week can afford by themselves.
We have gone the longest in history since the implication of minimum wage without a federal-mandated increase. Even fast food restaurants, such as Burger King and McDonalds, which used to be for people to eat cheaply, have raised their prices so much people making minimum wage can’t afford to eat there. Just 10 years ago, Carl’s Jr. used to offer a six-dollar burger as a specialty at a discounted price.
Growing up in the South, it makes me laugh how there was so much racism but the older people around me always expected the black people to do all the work. But they’re lazy. It’s funny how you can become lazy once you have to pay someone for their services. And now, in Hammond, La., a Chick-fil-A is offering a summer camp for $35 a child. It sounds like to me they’re trying to get some free work out of people. In Hendersonville, N.C., a Chick-fil-A a couple of years ago was offering volunteers free chicken sandwiches for their work.
There always going to try to get some work out of you without paying for it. A newspaper I had applied to wanted me to go cover a football game so they could get a look at my style. I wasn’t starting out. I had worked for over a year at a five-daily newspaper. Also, in job interviews, several other candidates have said they have been tasked with projects to see how they can work. To be honest, unless you’re working with your hands as a mechanic, carpenter or lumberjack, they shouldn’t be asking you to do anything to get work done. And even in the above-mentioned professions or others that have to deal with working with your hands a lot, nothing more than a minor demonstration of your skills should be allowed.
There’s a viral video of a young black man recalling how a field trip they went on to pick cotton actually resulted in them providing free labor because they weren’t allowed to keep their cotton. Whether or not this is a true story, I wouldn’t doubt some school, especially in the South, would do something like this. It can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PToqVW4n86U
While a lot of people think this day shouldn’t be celebrated, they need to realize that it’s a matter of time before before the powers that be realize they can push things a little farther. As Johnson famously quoted: “If you can convince the lowest white man he’s better than the best colored man, he won’t notice you’re picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he’ll empty his pockets for you.”
That’s what the Republican Party has been doing for 60 years and why they still stick behind Donald Trump because he does this.
What do you think? Please comment.
Zane Says 