6 Meaningful Ways to Honor Juneteenth and Celebrate Black History

Juneteenth is a federally recognized holiday and while there are conversations within the Black American community as to why this isn’t enough; it does provide an opportunity to bring more awareness to the disparities Black Americans have experienced as a result of systemic oppression created by white supremacy.

I want to share some ways you can honor Juneteenth and support Black Americans all year long.

For my fellow Black Americans, my only advice for you is to prioritize your joy and well-being. Do what feels good for your mind, body, and spirit. Personally, this year, I have chosen to prioritize my time and energy for people and things that expand, nourish, or compensate me to honor my value of empowerment.

For non-Black Americans, here are some ways you can honor Juneteenth if you haven’t begun to already:

1. Learn about the history of Juneteenth and its significance.
2. Acknowledge where you have privilege and influence and how it can be used to honor and support Black Americans.
3. Support Black-owned businesses.
4. Pay Black people for their labor. (Think sliding into the Venmo, PayPal, or CashApp accounts of Black creators and educators you regularly consume from on social media.)
5. Regularly invest your time in learning about true Black history beyond glorified Black trauma porn.
6. Finally, suppose you have the day off and plan to host or attend a BBQ or gathering. In that case, I encourage you to open up a discussion about the history of Juneteenth and the impact of systemic oppression on Black Americans. Suppose this seems like too heavy of a topic to bring up at a gathering. In that case, I invite you to try to imagine what it’s like to live as a Black person in America, unable to pick and choose how oppressive white supremacist systems might impact you.

These are some ways you can honor Black Americans and Juneteenth. I also recommend learning from Anti-racism Daily, Divesting From Whiteness, and Check Your Privilege and researching on your own. There is still so much work to be done, and we need your support. Finally, consider creating a Personal Philosophy Statement to refer to as a reminder of how you want to show up in the world.