JUNETEENTH IN 2122!

Hello, and welcome to my blog. This post reflects my second and final action project for the unit of “Hxstory” of my Humanities core class, “Equality”. Throughout this unit, we have explored current race, gender, and class relations in the United States throughout history. We watched a documentary called “Roger and Me”, which was about the GMC company’s impact on Flint, Michigan after closing all of their factories. In the last few weeks of class, we played traditional Monopoly and “Stratified Society” of Monopoly. The stratified society version divided us, players, up by financial class with each class having its own different set of privileges. This version of monopoly allowed us to experience systemic discrimination by financial status. For this action project, we were assigned to predict the future of Equality in video format the way Trevor Noah does his news reporting. My news report captures the historical context and current events in 2122 related to the Juneteenth holiday. Watch my video and read my script down below. Thanks for visiting my blog! 

Script

NL: “Today is June 19, 2122, better known as Juneteenth. "Juneteenth honors the end to slavery in the United States of America and is considered the longest-running Black Indigenous and African American holiday. On June 17, 2021, it officially became a federal holiday.  Today in the 22nd century, I’m proud to be an American and proud that our country is reeducating American and world history nationwide through our schools and media more truthfully.

NL: The popular misconception and miseducation throughout the 20th and the early 21st centuries on the “ending” of slavery was that slavery ended because it went against Abraham Lincoln’s faith and morals as a person and he thought it was the right thing to do. In the 2020s, more Americans realized that the abolishment of slavery wasn’t in Lincoln’s intentions at all.” Here's a quote from Lincoln’s famous debate with Stephen to give context to some of Lincoln’s beliefs at the time of slavery leading up to the Civil War: 

Abraham Lincoln: "I have no purpose directly or indirectly to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so." 

NL: When Abraham Lincoln feared he would lose the Civil War, he freed slaves in the South assuming they could rebel against the southerners who enslaved them. Lincoln also didn’t want equality for especially white and black people at the time either. He believed that there could be only one superior race and it had to be the white race.  

Abraham Lincoln: “If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it," wrote Lincoln in 1862. "What I do about slavery, and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union." 

Abraham Lincoln: "I am not, nor ever have been in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races... I am not nor ever have been in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people, and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality. And inasmuch as they cannot so live, while they do remain together there must be the position of superior and inferior, and I as much as any other man is in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race."

NL: Since the 1850s, history has been white-washed and rewritten so white people’s words would be believed by the future generations of Americans as “right” and fact even if the written documents were lies. The reason for all of this was to preserve the white supremacist beliefs and values of America which consisted of barbaric acts such as the capturing, selling, beating, raping, breeding, and experimentation of enslaved people groups; and genocide upon all people who weren’t white. As well as the discriminative class system of race, gender, and social and financial status. The major effects of slavery lasted from the late 1800s to the 2040s in America. These effects of slavery were systemic and blatant racism, discrimination, racial injustice, disproportionate imprisonment, disproportionate disparities in health, and lack of investment to black and brown communities nationwide. All of these negative experiences of people who aren’t white were created just like the categorization of race. Now with that being said, let’s define race and how it has affected not only our country but the world. Here’s a video from Dr. Joy DeGruy Leary to discuss more of the matter.

Dr. Joy DeGruy Leary: “Race is a concept of society that insists there is a genetic significance behind human variations in skin color that transcends outward appearance. However, race has no scientific merit outside of sociological classifications. There are no significant genetic variations within the human species to justify the division of "races. Mankind is one. We are one humanity. Isn’t it a shame that we are debating that in 2008? But the reason, why we continue to debate it, is we still try to reconcile the ugly stuff that we've never dealt with. We still want to say they deserved it so no one has to feel bad about all of those little babies dying and ignoring the ravages of Africa and killing young black males and urban cities altar in disproportionate imprisonment disproportionate disparities and health, oh it must be their fault how do you reconcile it you see you rather than deal with it we just continue to try to justify the behavior.”

NL: In 2122, we’ve come a long way from the misrepresentation of the mistreatment of black and brown indigenous people. Policies such as the federal act of the “Publication of Slave Trade and Selling Documents” and the “Aboriginal and Indigenous Reparations Act” are proof that our country will invest in the people groups impacted by our nation’s wrongdoings. In 2105, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued the Revisions to the Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity. These standards are commonly used for federal data collection purposes, not only in the decennial census, but also in household surveys, on administrative forms (e.g., school registration and mortgage lending applications), and in medical and clinical research.”

NL: The 22nd Century standards contain six minimum categories for the race: American Native or Alaska Native, Asian, Black American or Black Native (specify which indigenous group(s) if possible), Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and White or European. There are three categories for ethnicity: "Hispanic or Latino"  or "Not Hispanic or Latino," and the “Specify Indigenous group” option.

NL: In today’s breaking news, we interviewed Zion Randal (17) and Marsha Harris (18). They’ve been friends since kids and have successfully traced their family’s lineage and discovered that they are each other’s cousins.” I asked one of them to walk us through the steps you took in order to trace your family’s lineage and heritage. Here’s what Zion had to say about the matter:

ZR: “I was able to trace my lineage back to the late 1870s and trace my heritage back to the early 1800s through the use of the government portal in accordance with the “Publication of Slave Trade and Selling Documents” and “Aboriginal and Indigenous Reparations Act”. The portal asked for my grandparents’ and great-grandparents' date of birth and from there the portal made a family tree and traced documents from centuries ago. For reparations through the federal government, I  was able to receive 25 acres of land in the US and in West Africa along with a check for $10,000 dollars. My family has been able to reap the benefits we have been owed for hundreds of years. 

NL: June 19, 2122, marks the day that the United States of America has changed for the better and has achieved true equality and equity within indigenous people groups. Moving forward, we want to make this country home again for the descendants of people who existed on this Earth before America was created. That wraps up today’s news broadcast, have a great weekend America!

Conclusion

I enjoyed writing my script for my newscast and choosing a topic that reflects the progression black and brown people have made in this country. I felt challenged when predicting life in our country 100 years from now because I couldn’t think about much good for our country’s future. Overall, I enjoyed this project because I was able to record a news report-themed video for my topic and predict the future I want in America for my people.

Works Cited

“Abraham Lincoln Papers: Series 2. General Correspondence. 1858-1864: Abraham Lincoln to Horace Greeley, Friday, August 22, 1862 (Clipping from Aug. 23, 1862, Daily National Intelligencer, Washington, D.C.).” The Library of Congress, 2015, www.loc.gov/resource/mal.4233400/?st=text&r=-0.272,-0.206,1.612,1.305,0.

Carney, Terrance. “Dr. Joy DeGruy Leary: Post Traumatic Slave Disorder.” YouTube, 12 Sept. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGjSday7f_8. 

NOT-OD-15-089: Racial and Ethnic Categories and Definitions for NIH Diversity Programs and for Other Reporting Purposes.” Nih.gov, 2015, grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/not-od-15-089.html.

Nix, Elizabeth. “What Is Juneteenth?” HISTORY, HISTORY, 19 June 2015, www.history.com/news/what-is-juneteenth.

“US Government Should Pay Reparations to the African-American Descendants of Slaves, UN Committee Says.” The Independent, 30 Jan. 2016, www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-government-should-pay-reparations-to-the-africanamerican-descendants-of-slaves-un-committee-says-a6842851.html. (Picture1)

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