 Equality & Equity - The Difference Matters Guest post by Kristine Schwartzman Juneteenth celebrations still rang out across the country in 2025. But, this year was different. There weren't as many. Some were subdued. Others were canceled. The change was palpable. And, it was far-reaching.
It's easy to say, as many officials did, that safety was the issue. If the threat of violence is real and security is the problem, what happened? How did we get here? Why is this year different? The political climate has clearly changed. Diversity, equity and inclusive (DEI) initiatives across the country have been gutted and defunded. DEI programs, on the federal and state levels and in the public sector, were meant to level the playing field and provide needed support so that every person regardless of color, gender, sexual preference or disability has the opportunity to thrive. DEI programs have long been targeted by a segment of the population that portrayed them as anti-white, a sort of reverse discrimination claim. And, unfortunately, it is that idea that currently controls the government in the US. Federal DEI programs have been obliterated and the pressure on corporate entities, states, and educational institutions to eliminate initiatives has been relentless. Many have capitulated. What does DEI have to do with Juneteenth? Federal DEI grants funded many celebrations. When the federal government under the current regime unceremoniously yanked those grants, events already planned fell by the wayside. Black organizers also voluntarily, albeit reluctantly, canceled or moved events to smaller venues. One of the reasons often stated was the fear of a violent backlash. That leads us back to where we started - they canceled because of security issues. What should be a celebration of freedom, remembrance and joy is now tainted by fear. “What we’re seeing – businesses pulling back and universities canceling programs in response to attacks on DEI – shows that many institutions and corporations were never truly committed to diversity and inclusion,” said LaTasha Levy, a professor of Afro-American Studies at Howard University, a historically Black university in Washington, DC. “We’re not even being honest about what DEI really stands for.” It seems that every step forward is two steps back. Equality and equity for all Americans, is not a given. It's never a win. It's always work. And, it's worth fighting for. Resources: How cities are scaling back Juneteenth celebrations after Trump-era DEI rollbacks No longer looking for votes, Trump changes his tune about the Juneteenth holiday Freedom Day for All Americans Celebrate Juneteenth - Why & How
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 Early Advertisement for Smallpox Inoculations Guest post by Kristine Schwartzman Smallpox is a deadly disease, a highly contagious virus that disfigures most, and kills from 30% - 50% of its victims. Often, even those who recover suffer from lifelong afflictions related to the illness.
Smallpox swept the country in the late 1700s, and was the catalyst for the first protective vaccine ever developed. It is the only disease declared eradicated by the World Health Organization. The vaccination's development is one of pride, but also shame. Pride because the vaccine has officially eradicated smallpox. Shame, because the road to the vaccine came on the backs, or the arms, rather, of the enslaved. Dr. Edward Jenner is widely recognized as developing the first effective smallpox vaccine in 1796. But, his road to its development in the United States begins in 1716 when a slave named Onesimus "owned" by Cotton Mather, told Mather that he had smallpox at one time, and was cured of it. Onesimus described a long-used method to protect against the virus called variolation. The procedure involved taking infected material from the blisters of the afflicted, and placing it in a cut on the arm of a healthy individual. The healthy person was then protected from the worst form of the virus. Those of us who don't wear tin hats recognize the process. A milder form of the virus was introduced into a healthy person's body, allowing the body's immune system to build antibodies to fight and turn the disease away when encountered. Mather widely publicized the procedure, which was met with both relief and fear. And, like today, proof that it worked was required. The road to that proof, as well as the vaccine's further development, depended on a group who had no say in the matter - slaves. Used as "property," slaves were the ideal guinea pigs. First, slaves were intentionally given the virus and then the inoculation to ensure efficacy. When the procedure proved beneficial, slaves became "vessels" for vaccine harvest. The Civil War became a killing field in more ways than one - smallpox reared its ugly head at a time when there was a shortage of vaccine material. Who better than the enslaved, or the newly emancipated living in refugee camps, to supply vaccine material? Medical officers on both sides infected enslaved or newly emancipated babies and children with smallpox in order to create the vaccine. Sometimes these living "vessels" were sent on ships in order to transport vaccine material to another location. One documented case is of a 9-year-old girl whose arm was the vaccine's "container." Dr. Jenner's vaccine in 1796 used cowpox material to create the vaccine instead of actual smallpox matter. But, from Onesimus, who first explained the procedure to Mather, through the later ordeals of experimentation and inhumane practices, the development of the smallpox vaccine and slavery are forever entwined. The Big Lie Guest post by Kristine Schwartzman After the Civil War, part of the Reconstruction plan included giving formerly enslaved Black Americans land, land owned by the very people who enslaved them. Intended to give freed Black people a start on building their lives, the plan died right along with Abraham Lincoln. In this groundbreaking historical investigation, Reveal tracks the lives of 1,250 freed people who were given land, only to have white supremacist Andrew Johnson, who became president after Lincoln’s death, pave the way for former enslavers and landowners, to get the land back. And, how they succeeded! So, why bring this up now? Because the consequences still resound today. Reparations given, and then taken away - turned once hopeful lives into further toil and poverty that passed down through generations. Those families still pay the price of being kidnapped from their homes, and turned into property. This is not the “past.” It is now.  40 Acres and a Lie: Read part 1 and listen to the podcast here. Additional Resources: NPR: Some freed people actually received '40 acres and a mule.' Then it got taken away. Mother Jones: How 99 Black Americans Gained—Then Lost—Land on an Idyllic Georgia Island  If One of Us is Enslaved, We All Are Did you know that June 19 was a federal holiday, known as Juneteenth, Freedom Day or Emancipation Day? I had never heard of it until President Joe Biden recognized it as a federal holiday in 2021. Was this a part of the history lessons you were taught in school? Unfortunately, this did not make it into our history books in Wyoming. The Juneteenth National Independence Day Act was finally recognized and signed into law, after many years of advocacy and steadfast leadership by a trio of incredibly determined ladies. Lula Briggs Galloway, Opal Lee, Clara Peoples and many other activists were first acknowledged for these efforts in 1996. We’ll talk more in a future post about them and their dedication to shining a light on this shameful part of our American history.  Makenna, 4, dances with the Juneteenth flag during Longmont’s annual Juneteenth Celebration at Roosevelt Park in Longmont on Saturday. (Cliff Grassmick — Staff Photographer) What is Juneteenth, and why create a federal holiday to recognize it? On September 22, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln announced that the Emancipation Proclamation would go into effect on January 1, 1863, promising freedom to enslaved people in all the rebellious parts of Southern states of the Confederacy. Texas was included, but not the federally held territories of Delaware, Maryland, and West Virginia. Although the Emancipation Proclamation declared an end to slavery in the Confederate States, it did not end slavery in the states that remained in the Union. For a short while after the fall of the Confederacy, slavery remained legal in two of the Union border states – Delaware and Kentucky. Those slaves were freed with the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which abolished chattel slavery nationwide on December 6, 1865. In simple terms, while slavery was abolished in 1862, slave owners in a handful of states chose not to comply until more than 2 years later. Juneteenth is the celebration of freedom for those enslaved people. Juneteenth is now a federally recognized holiday, observed every year on June 19. How will it be celebrated? People celebrate everywhere, from backyard barbecues and Block parties to big concerts, festivals, and parades. There are marathons, Miss Juneteenth contests, educational programs, commemorative art exhibitions, programs showcasing black culture, readings of the emancipation proclamation, and more. Traditional African foods may be served, frequently with red food and drinks, to symbolize resilience and joy. My take on this is to celebrate Juneteenth by acknowledging our history, embracing diversity, and actively working towards inclusion and equality for all. In discussions with neighborhood friends this year, we talked about whether it was culturally appropriate to observe this holiday and if it was possible to do so respectfully. My small rural town is predominantly white. In my efforts to educate myself and share my knowledge with my friends, I learned that many others, including African Americans also have mixed emotions about this history. One comment I read from a person of color was, “I don’t know if I am for celebrating Juneteenth. They told a lie, they hid the lie, and then they told us two years later, and now you tell us to celebrate. Really?” Another said, “I am going to a cookout and festival that will feature black-owned vendors and small businesses, and I will buy from them.” Can I respectfully celebrate by honoring cultural traditions that are not mine and doing my best to lift people of color who are living among us? For me, my 2023 Juneteenth was a quiet and personal celebration, filled with sadness for the past and hope for the future. I chose to read, learn and educate myself and share with my friends these hidden and whitewashed parts of our history. Next year, I hope we all have more to celebrate in our quest for equality and human dignity. Reference Links: 2023 Juneteenth Day of Observance How to Celebrate Juneteenth President Biden signs the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act  When Silence Reigns
As we tell Nancy Kendall’s story, we often see modern parallels. The recent passing of Queen Elizabeth II brought criticisms to the fore regarding the history of the monarchy and its brutal acts of imperialism as it built the Commonwealth. For those of us in the US, we cannot help but find similarities between those unspeakable acts of cruelty and those in which our young and growing republic engaged. As a developing nation, we were desperate to escape the rule of England, King George the III. We fought and paid dearly to break away from the monarchy. We subsequently wrote our own laws, both brilliant and flawed, to establish our hard-won independence. Everything about imperialism and colonization seems evil, particularly its treatment of the people whose homelands are gobbled up. For centuries, the British Empire was single-minded in its pursuit of reigning over subjects in far off lands. As we built our newly independent country, we also journeyed to foreign lands to capture and enslave human beings for our use. We treated them as property with no rights or respect, simply because people of color were considered lesser-beings, and “should” be subservient. We nearly succeeded in our efforts to wipe out the original inhabitants of this continent, along with their rich cultures. Our attempted destruction of Native Americans, and our kidnapping and enslavement of Africans, rank as similarly atrocious acts to the imperialistic takeovers committed by the armies of Britain at the behest of the monarchy. Nation building in any form is often cruel and unfair. We now watch in horror as the leader of Russia pushes ahead, seemingly no cost too great, in his quest to conquer Ukraine and its people. Both the US and the UK have only just begun the difficult discussions, not only to face the past with honesty, but also to amend the wrongs with reparations to the peoples the nations conquered. We must learn from our own acts of imperialism and vow never to repeat this part of our history. May the passing of the long reigning Monarch bring forth a new era of progressive thinking for the UK, the US and the rest of the world. To learn more about the monarchy and its dubious past, read: 
Rhiannon Giddens
Songs of survival. Songs of hope. Songs of a better life. Songs of identity. Songs of despair. And, songs as warnings for fleeing slaves along the Underground Railroad. The songs enslaved people sang, and those they sang after gaining freedom, tell their stories. And, singer-songwriter Rhiannon Giddens is making sure their stories don’t die. In an interview on the PBS series Fresh Air with Terry Gross, Giddens talks about her music and why telling these stories is so important. Although her music spans many genres, her album, “They’re Calling Me Home” is filled with songs based on the lives of the enslaved. With the most astonishing voice I’ve ever heard, Giddens is a joint Grammy Award Winner, composer, speaker and podcast radio talk show host. I urge you to check out her music, and in particular, “They’re Calling Me Home.” Giddens is also a writer, soon to publish a children’s book, “Build a House.” Preorder here. Did you know? Harriet Tubman, the Moses of her People, used a traditional Negro Spiritual to warn slaves to get into the water to deter the scent-sniffing dogs on their trail? “Wade in the water, wade in the water children Wade in the water, God's gonna trouble the water”  June 19, 2022 - A Day of Celebration for All Americans Enslaved people in Texas did not know they were free for two and a half years. On June 19, 1865, Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger and his Union troops arrived in Galveston with the news. News traveled slowly then, but Texas slave owners knew. And, to get the most out of what they deemed their "property," they didn't tell. June 19 became the symbolic day of freedom for the enslaved. Juneteenth, a combination of "June" and "19th" is now a federal holiday. This year, Juneteenth is on a Sunday. Communities and homes across the nation will celebrate. Juneteenth has special significance for Black Americans, of course, but it is also a day of celebration, and learning, for all of us. As with most American celebrations, food is a big part of the festivities. Many popular dishes and drinks served now have distinct roots in traditional African fare. If you look at a list of delectable dishes and drinks, you'll see such treats as Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole and Chicken and Waffles. You'll also see some kind of red drink, made with cherries, strawberries, sorrel or other red natural ingredient. It can be made with alcohol or not, but it will be red and it will be on the menu. According to Smithsonian, the "red drink" refers to a variety of sweet, berry-citrus, ruby-colored drinks. Historians say the drink's roots go back four centuries to West Africa, where hibiscus flowers and cola nut were the main ingredients. As Africans began their forced occupations in lands they didn't choose, the red drink cultural tradition came with them. Not always finding familiar plants in these new regions, the displaced were forced to alter ingredients, but still found a way to keep their culture alive. From the 1920s on, red Kool-Aid, and sodas, like Big Red were sometimes used. Caribbean immigrants used hibiscus flowers to make their red drink. They called it sorrel. Jackie Summers, an African American distiller from Brooklyn who created a liqueur version of sorrel, explains, “Red drink’s got terrific cultural significance because it’s a story of perseverance, of people who refused to die and a culture that refused to die.” To make a modern, non-alcoholic version of the red drink, follow the recipe below, courtesy of Smithsonian Magazine. Red Delicious:  Red Sorrel Punch 1 cinnamon stick
6 cloves 1 cup dried sorrel flowers (available in Caribbean markets and online) 1 cup sugar 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, sliced (optional) Place ingredients with 10 cups of water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and allow to steep overnight. Pour mixture through a sieve into a pitcher or glass bottle. Store in refrigerator and serve chilled. Drink within a week for the best taste. Take a look at more Juneteenth foods you can make yourself at African Bites: 24 Mouth-Watering Juneteenth Recipes. Juneteenth - a day for all Americans to celebrate freedom. Because when one of us is enslaved, we all are.  Guest Post by Kristine Schwartzman Like others who helped enslaved people on their journey for freedom, Nancy Kendall rarely knew what happened to the freedom seekers after they left her home. But she did hear from one woman she helped. She’d made it to safety. We often speak about the Emancipation Proclamation as a happy ending. But, for many freed people, the end of slavery was far from the storybook ending many imagine. An excerpt from the Library of Congress collection of recordings of former slaves, Voices Remembering Slavery: Freed People Tell Their Stories, Laura Smalley describes what happened: “We didn't know where to go. Mom and them didn't know where to go. You see, after freedom broke, they started just, like, to turn some of them out, you know? We didn't know where to go. They turned us out just like, you know, you turn out cattle (laughter), I'd say.” Smalley was a child in Texas when her parents and the rest of the enslaved were told they were free. It was not the “master” who told them. He’d kept their freedom a secret. She explains: “No, he didn't tell. They went there and turned them loose on the 19 of June. That's why, you know, we celebrate that day — colored folks celebrates that day — celebrates that day.”  Photo Courtesy Library of Congress Jim Downs' book, “Sick from Freedom: African-American Illness and Suffering During the Civil War and Reconstruction” outlines how the war and its aftermath led to the largest biological crises of the 19th century. Hundreds of thousands of freed people died. While the Emancipation Proclamation served as the catalyst for freeing people, no programs or services were offered to help them in the immediate aftermath. Some continued to work on plantations, some fled to lives of uncertainty, some starved to death, and many died of disease. The government finally established the Freedmen’s Bureau, which provided medical care, food, and other supplies to those in the South who needed help. Out of the chaos came demonstrations by the freed people themselves. Demanding civil rights, the vote, education, reunions with family, and opportunities for economic health, former slaves became advocates to improve their lives. It’s a battle still being fought today.  President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, but that was only the first chapter of a very long struggle with chattel slavery. Following the annexation of Texas from Mexico in 1845, the Mexican-American War (1846-1848) resulted in a treaty in which the United States obtained Texas and part of California. The United States paid Mexico $50 million for Texas and a section of California, the same amount that they paid France for the Louisiana purchase. Mexico was anti-slavery. Plantation owners from the south quietly slipped chattel slavery into Texas as the war for possession of the territory raged. The practice of owning people spread across the eastern two fifths of the state. The Emancipation Proclamation was signed on January 1, 1863, but slavery in Texas didn't end. For two years after the Proclamation, most slave owners in Texas kept quiet about the fact that the enslaved were, in fact, free.  It wasn't until June 19, 1865, now commemorated in the Juneteenth celebration, when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston with the news – the Civil War was over and the enslaved were free.
I was gently reminded, by a good friend from Texas, that Texans have begun to sort out romanticized hero history stories. And of course, many events in our nation’s history have been glossed over and romanticized. Studying and recording our history with much more attention to accurate detail, as our teachers loved to remind us in school, is often a painful lesson. Discussions of cancel culture spark debates, but it’s truth that matters. Facing the reality of our past gives us a greater understanding, and a chance to work toward fairness and equity for all. 
Forget the Alamo
When I hear the names Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie, William Barret Travis, Santa Anna and the state of Texas along with a whisper of John Wayne, of course I think of the Alamo. The story of the freedom fighters' bravery, courage and deaths as they fought to win independence from Mexico is legendary. But, how much of what we think we know is true?
A fascinating new book entitled, "Forget the Alamo: The Rise and Fall of an American Myth," examines what really happened, and explores how the heroic myth came about. Authors Bryan Burrough, Chris Tomlinson and Jason Stanford, have written a provocative tale that not only speaks to the truth, but also looks at the surprising reasons the fight for independence began in the first place. In one of the most controversial findings, the authors explain that the battle for the independence of Texas began, at least in part, because of Mexico's anti-slavery stance. Plantation owners from the south had already settled in the region, bringing their slaves with them. Ending slavery would have brought an abrupt end to the plantation owners' lucrative cotton trade, and resulted in financial ruin. I won't give you any more spoilers, but I highly recommend reading "Forget the Alamo." To learn more, listen to this Politics and Prose discussion with the authors: This Fresh Air podcast covers many of the more fascinating aspects of the book as well: "Forget the Alamo" Author Says We Have the Texas Origin Story All Wrong" Do you plan to read "Forget the Alamo?" Let me know in the comments. Stay tuned for more. |
Nancy JeanNancy Jean is a woman of several lives and careers, including school teacher, homemaker, parent, amateur musician and writer. Read more... Archives
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