Imagining Liberation This Juneteenth

By: Selma Ulm

This Juneteenth, I have been thinking a lot about the word “liberation.” On the 159th anniversary of the liberation of enslaved people in Galveston Texas by Union troops, I am wondering about the emotions and lives of the freed people in Galveston after that special day. I am wondering whether troops that “liberated” saw the enslaved people as equals. I am wondering what the feeling of “liberation” felt like.

What is liberation? How does one define it? What does a liberated life look like? 

When I ask myself if every human in the US is emancipated/liberated this Juneteenth, (and I assume you too) would also say ‘no, Americans today are not liberated.’ Our country has implicit barriers to the true freedom of everyone: even the most racist of individuals can normally acknowledge wealth and/or gender as barriers to the equality of Americans.

This Juneteenth I am setting the intention to journal about a liberated future. I encourage you to join me. What does liberation mean to you this Juneteenth? What do you imagine a liberated future looks like? How can you be an active member in getting yourself, your family, your community, and your country to that place? What plan can you make this Juneteenth for the true liberation of yourself and the world around you?