On Thursday, June 17th President Joe Biden signed a bill making Juneteenth a Federal holiday. You can read more about that HERE. Juneteenth commemorates the day that slaves in Galveston Texas were told of their emancipation (albeit 2 years after Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation).

But is the enacting of Juneteenth as a federal holiday a reckoning or just a pacifier?

This weekend Juneteenth celebrations will abound across the country. Lectures, food, dancing and other celebrations of community and culture will take place all across the country. I am even a speaker for one such event, Juneteenth Freedom Fest NYC. I’ll be teaching on the subject, “Health Is Your Heritage”. And while we are all in a celebratory mode, let us not get distracted. The fight against injustice rages on.

Yes, a day to commemorate our freedom may seem like cause for celebration but where is the legislation protecting Black and Brown peoples from police brutality? Where are we in the fight eradication systemic racism from the workplace? What about closing the divide in education? Surely in this past year and a half we have also seen the critical need for equity in the health sector.

Communities of color do not need to be pacified with a holiday. I personally do not want to see this holiday reduced to cute marketing campaigns sporting red, black and green. Nor do I want to see a slew of cheap apparel, jewelry or other trinkets being hawked on every street corner the week of 6/19. What we need is authentic overhaul of deep rooted beliefs and practices that keep communities of color oppressed.

Let us continue to press forward vigilantly as work remains to be done. Let us have the heart of God which cries out and demands justice. Let us continue to speak up for those who’ve been silenced.

Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause. Isaiah 1:17

Let us each examine ourselves. What area(s) of influence has God called you to? One of the single greatest things we can do to be a change agent is to FULLY walk in the call God has on your life. God needs each of us in position carrying out His will. And that’s why I am here. I am here to do the will of the Lord in equipping you with practical strategies for living fully holistically so that you are strong, able-bodied, edified in spirit and mentally capable so that you can RUN the race set before you. And because I want to see you succeed, I am gifting you $5 off anything in my shop by using the code BV2US3JX

Continue to fight the good fight of faith. Obey the Lord completely. His kingdom come, His will be done.

As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired To Live Fully!