Porsha Williams has completely grown since her days of being misinformed about the Underground Railroad. The Real Housewives of Atlanta fan favorite has penned a powerful essay about why every American should celebrate Juneteenth.
Formally, Juneteenth is a holiday that black people have been celebrating for years known as the day that enslaved Texans found out they had already been free for over two years since the Emancipation Proclamation was enacted on January 1st, 1863.
However, since the reawakening of the Black Lives Matter Movement, more non-POC are educating themselves about black history. Musician Pharrell is pushing for it to be acknowledged as an official paid holiday since it’s just as important as the fourth of July.
Nike, along with some other companies, is already doing so.
Porsha is the granddaughter of Hosea Williams who was one of the key players in the Civil Rights Movement over 50 years ago.
Williams has been out in the streets protesting and using her platform to inform followers of what’s going on.
She has been given a guest spot on the website for Today to express why Juneteenth should be recognized by everyone.
‘Juneteenth is a day for us to recognize the physical end of slavery in America. More than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, people in the South still had slaves. Union soldiers made their way to Texas to read federal orders and enforce the proclamation. And it was on June 19, 1865, that Major General Gordon Granger led his soldiers into Galveston, Texas to inform the final group of citizens that the war was over and that the enslaved were now free. It’s this event, the final physical freedom of our people in Galveston, that African Americans have celebrated for 155 years. It’s a day that we began our true independence and started our uphill battle for civil rights.’
She went on to say: ‘To me, this day means that people can right their wrongs and change can be made. What has gone on in America is not acceptable. But hopefully one day it can be corrected. Maybe that one day will be in my lifetime, or maybe it will be in my daughter’s lifetime. The protests over the past few weeks have shown that we all hope this country is headed towards reform. We have come together as a nation in a way we never have before. The injustice that has been ignored for decades is being recognized and supported worldwide. Juneteenth is a chance to keep that momentum going and a chance for people who haven’t celebrated the day in the past to do so.’
Advertisement
It’s great to see Porsha living in her legacy.
Post Views:
5