AnitaB.org is proud to commemorate Juneteenth as an important historical symbol of progress towards equity for all Americans. We are pleased to have been on the commemoration vanguard by declaring Juneteenth a company holiday in 2020 and are encouraged that our nation is moving towards declaring this a national Juneteenth holiday. We commend our partners who thoughtfully reflect and educate their internal and community spheres of influence on the significance of Juneteenth and that celebrate the day with the respect it deserves.
Yet, we don’t forget that this holiday commemorates that more than two years after our government legislated that the enslaved be emancipated, Federal troops had to be dispatched to enact the Emancipation Proclamation. We cannot ignore that the enslaved were prohibited by law from learning to read, in turn prohibiting those most directly affected from understanding the Proclamation’s impact. We recognize that as Americans we all live in the shadow of this pained and blistering history, but none more than our Black citizens.
The real honor in commemorating Juneteenth is through actions that continuously move Black communities toward enjoying the privileges afforded to other Americans. There is much more work to be done to drive equity and inclusion in tech and as an integral piece of our society at large.
At AnitaB.org, our employees and Board of Trustees are actively celebrating Juneteenth by learning about the complex and deeply personal stories of the enslaved and slavery’s enduring contemporary vestiges. To ensure lasting impact, we’re sharing these important stories with our children.
At AnitaB.org, we are not taking the day off, we are taking a stand to elevate equitable participation in the Great Experiment on which our nation was founded. None are free until all are.
Read more posts from the thread CHIPS and Science Act Become Law