On June 17, 2021, President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law, recognizing the historical significance of the Juneteenth National Independence Day to the United States and that (1) history should be regarded as a means for understanding the past and solving the challenges of the future; and (2) the celebration of the end of slavery is an important and enriching part of the history and heritage of the United States.
June 19th (or “Juneteenth”) marks the anniversary of the end of slavery in the United States—the day slaves in Galveston, Texas, were finally freed from bondage—more than two years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863.
In celebration of the holiday, I couldn’t help but be reminded of the August 12, 2020 session I co-hosted at NASA on “Mission to Inclusion: Cultivating an Antiracist Workplace”, featuring Professor Ibram Kendi. To prepare for the session, I picked up Kendi’s book entitled How to Be an Antiracist.
Click here for a summary of Kendi’s book