The promise of Juneteenth remains unfulfilled.

June 19, 2023

          Juneteenth was designated a federal holiday on June 17, 2021, and is celebrated on June 19th each year (or on the nearest Friday or Monday if it falls on a weekend). At a time when America’s history of the enslavement of Black people is being stripped from curriculums across the nation, the holiday takes on a special urgency. It reminds us that—like virtually every tenet of the canon of American history—the facts are more complicated, messy, and disappointing than expected. So, too, with Juneteenth.

          In its simplest telling, Juneteenth is the day when General Order No. 3 was published in Texas, informing enslaved persons and their masters that the Emancipation Proclamation ended slavery in secessionist states two-and-a-half years earlier. But as with the Emancipation Proclamation, the promise of “the end of slavery” outran the reality. See generally, Washington Post,  Thousands queue to see the Emancipation Proclamation and General Order No. 3. (This article is accessible to everyone.)

          The Emancipation Proclamation ended slavery only in secessionist states—but not (a) in the slave states that remained loyal to the Union or (b) in those portions of secessionist states under the control of the Union Army. As a result, when the Emancipation Proclamation was issued, it left nearly half a million people in their enslaved condition.

          And when General Gordon Granger issued General Order No. 3 on June 19, 1865, declaring that enslaved persons in Texas were freed by virtue of the Emancipation Proclamation, the “freedom” recognized by the order was not the same freedom enjoyed by American citizens. General Order Number 3 read as follows:

          The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor.

               The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.

          By order of Major General Granger

            Although General Order Number 3 declares that enslaved persons and their masters have “absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property,” the next paragraph effectively advises the formerly enslaved people that they are indentured servants who were “advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages.” Thus began the long, fitful pursuit for “absolute equality” of the people who learned of their freedom on June 19th, 1865.

          More than a century-and-a-half later, that long, fitful pursuit continues. While much progress has been made, we are living through a retrograde moment in which discussing the truth of the Emancipation Proclamation and the Civil War amendments is banned in dozens of states. Juneteenth celebrates a day on which tens of thousands of enslaved people in Texas learned they were free, but it reminds us that the promise of “absolute equality of personal rights” for the descendants of the formerly enslaved people remains unfulfilled today.

The RJK Jr., Steve Bannon, Roger Stone, and Elon Musk nexus.

          Over the weekend, the long-shot candidacy of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. received a boost from talk-show host Joe Rogan and Elon Musk. To make a long story short, Rogan interviewed RFK Jr. for three hours last Thursday. During the interview, RJK Jr. attacked Dr. Peter Hotez, the highly respected Professor of Pediatrics and Molecular Virology at Baylor College of Medicine. Vice Magazine then published an article about the interview entitled, Spotify Has Stopped Even Sort of Trying to Stem Joe Rogan’s Vaccine Misinformation.  

          Peter Hotez promoted the Vice article on Twitter. Joe Rogan then offered Dr. Hotez $100,000 (to a charity of his choice) to come on his show to debate RFK Jr. on conspiracy theories regarding the Covid vaccine (among others). Elon Musk, an RFK Jr. promoter, piled on by attacking Dr. Hotez and Vice Magazine.

          Here’s the point of reciting that convoluted series of events: RFK Jr.’s candidacy is being promoted by rich, white, conspiracy-pushing bullies who hold an oversized media presence. Remember that time—three months ago—when Elon Musk was critical of Twitter for (allegedly) putting a thumb on the scale of political debate? He has now thrown the full force of Twitter’s Musk-promoting algorithms to advance the anti-vaccine agenda of RFK Jr.

          Are Musk and Rogan just anti-vaxxers who believe that RFK Jr.’s conspiracy theories are right? Or are they doing so to promote Trump's candidacy? Or both?

          Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo wrote about dust-up, noting that RFK Jr.’s “top backers are Steve Bannon, Mike Flynn, Roger Stone. He’s a creation of the world of MAGA.” See Talking Points Memo, Trumpers Know 3rd Party Spoilers Are Trump’s Only Shot.

          RJK Jr. has no chance of winning the Democratic nomination. But he may gain sufficient notoriety to become the No Labels candidate. As Marshall notes,

No Labels . . . is literally funded by the top Republican donors in the country and run by a couple of reprobates half-motivated by pique over being expelled from the Democratic party and half by the intrinsic corruption they displayed while they were part of it.

          Here’s my point: The No Labels and RFK Jr. efforts have a common thread: They seek only to increase Trump's chances of winning in 2024. Both are being funded/promoted by GOP “dirty tricks” veterans who seek to win at any cost. It is vitally important that we communicate the fraudulent nature of the No Labels movement and RFK Jr.’s candidacy.

Cracks in the veneer of Trump's support in the GOP?

          Over the last seventy-two hours, eight prominent Republicans have suggested that the indictment against Trump is serious and that his defenses are specious. Those giving Trump the side-eye include Bill Barr, Chris Christie, Gen. John Kelly (ret.), John Bolton, Larry Hogan, Asa Hutchinson, Mike Pence, and Rep. Mike Turner (GOP Chair of House Intelligence Committee). See, e.g., Newsweek, Bill Barr Rips Donald Trump's 'Absurd' and 'Wacky' Legal Arguments.

          The odds overwhelmingly favor Trump winning the GOP nomination. But the fact that a handful of Republicans expressed criticism against Trump over the Mar-a-Lago indictment is a good sign for Biden’s campaign in 2024. Trump will likely be indicted two or three times more (Georgia, fake electors, inciting violence on J6). If each new indictment chips away at his already thin support, he will be a weakened candidate.

While additional indictments should not be viewed as a political tool to defeat Trump, the first indictment suggests that political fallout is inevitable.

          Moreover, Republicans who don’t want to vote for Trump but can’t bring themselves to vote for a Democrat may be attracted to a third-party candidate as a “protest vote.” So, while we should NEVER support a No Labels/third party candidate, we should also not assume that such a candidate will automatically hurt Biden more than Trump.

Concluding Thoughts.

          Secretary of State Antony Blinken is on a high-stakes mission to Beijing to rebuild relations between the US and China. Although the meetings will likely be difficult, nuanced, and incremental, my overwhelming reaction to Blinken’s trip is, “How utterly normal!” This is the way diplomacy is supposed to be conducted: Measured, frank, and steady. It feels good to be in a world of global relations where the actors play by a set of international norms—even when they disagree.

          Biden’s diplomacy is such a breath of fresh air and relief after four years of international relations that seemed to be guided by the personal financial gain of the US. President. Just one more way that Joe Biden is renewing global trust in the US as a responsible partner. We are all better off for Biden’s steady hand in international relations—something that goes unnoticed because of the absence of crises!

          Talk to you tomorrow!

Postscript: Curricula or curriculums? Both plural forms are correct. I opted for the latter because I believe we need to move away from Latin plurals and follow the rules of American English for forming plurals. You should use whatever form sounds right to you, but as I noted, both are correct. Curriculum Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster.