We know that understanding our country’s racial history is a vital step toward ensuring our state is committed to building strong, inclusive communities for all Nebraskans. Which is why we sent a letter in opposition to resolution Addendum VII-1 to the University of Nebraska Board of Regents.
For years, we have worked closely with community partners and educators across the state to build inclusive communities, where everyone can feel safe, respected, and valued.
This is a guest blog post by Zeke Rouse, Appleseed’s Immigrants and Communities Welcoming Intern.
Across America, thousands of communities celebrate today in big and small ways, with local and larger events, holiday fare, parades, music, and readings of the Declaration of Independence. Some of us may not get past the hot dogs and watermelon, but it is time to reflect, even for just a few minutes, about what it means to live in a country built on the principles of democracy, where the voice of the people matters. “We the people” were, for many years, defined as white, land-owning men, but this has changed over time, as laws have codified standards to make our society fairer and more just. That doesn’t make us perfect. In fact, the founding fathers aimed to create not a perfect union, but a more perfect union. It was the dream of that more perfect union that inspired leaders like Susan B. Anthony and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to fight for rights to be extended to all Americans, beyond those whom our founding fathers narrowly included.
The impact of recognizing Juneteenth as the federal holiday with the passing of the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act cannot be understated. Yet many people don’t know the meaning and significance of Juneteenth.
While it took two and a half years for word of the Emancipation Proclamation to reach Texas, it has taken 156 years for Juneteenth to be recognized as historically significant.
We celebrate Juneteenth and all it means with the knowledge and reality that we have much more work to do. We must seek to know the history and the barriers and structures of racism that carry forward in order to learn from our mistakes as a country and as individuals to do better in the future. This is a day to reflect and to deeply consider the wound of racism.
Continue reading “Celebrate and recognize the history of Juneteenth”
As the trial of Derek Chauvin has captured the attention of many people across the country and around the world, we are feeling a deep sense of grief. One single trial or one verdict cannot erase the rightful grief, fear, and anger experienced by Black men, women, and children across the country, as our communities are ripped apart. The fact that police killings disproportionately impact Black community members is a clear indication of a deep-rooted systemic problem.
Continue reading “We cannot heal until Black community members are safe”
Every February, we focus on learning ‘Black history’, in other words, the American history that must be central to any true study of our country. Black history is ingenuity, innovation, and the ongoing pursuit of truth and justice moving this nation closer to its ideals of liberty and democracy. But history does not live in some distant, disconnected, and stagnant past, and it’s definitely not a lesson we should study in February alone.
Continue reading “Let’s listen to Black community members today and every day”
