We’re Still Not Free: Juneteenth, Black Women, and the Illusion of Progress

The Juneteenth surge happened quickly. The holiday went from being a cultural cornerstone of the South to a day that corporations and organizations wanted to jump on the bandwagon for, and signal their commitments to DEI and racial equity. 

And just as quickly, they’ve snatched that support back and commercialized a holiday meant to uplift Black Americans.

Citing the current political climate and fears of the attacks the Trump administration has made against Juneteenth, some companies are changing course and opting for more internal, “low visibility” celebrations. That kind of whitelash is just as integral to American history as the Juneteenth holiday itself. 

The pattern is predictable: White folks terrorize and oppress Black and Brown folks. Black and Brown people resist, and eventually secure some modicum of progress. White folks retaliate as soon as they feel the order and power structure of White Supremacy Culture is threatened in any way. 

The same has happened here with Juneteenth, a holiday that historically had been a cultural mainstay for Black communities in the South. It’s ironic, then, that Juneteenth — a holiday meant to celebrate freedom (or more specifically, commemorating the day when enslaved Africans in Galveston, Texas learned they were free, nearly two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed) — is more widely being acknowledged now during a time where true freedom is still denied to Black Americans. 

In the same way that the end of slavery gave way to the Reconstruction Era that created the foundation of anti-Black violence and racial hierarchy codified into law, is the same way that the bit of momentum picked up in 2020 quickly vanished with a change of administrations, and those willing to be complicit with it. 

The Contradictions and Parallels of Juneteenth to Today 

Juneteenth is celebrated in Houston's Emancipation Park, which was created specifically for such celebrations, in 1880.

Juneteenth, for as much as it is a day of celebration and joy for Black communities, also represents America’s history of quickly tearing down and preventing Black folks from truly being free. White Supremacy Culture persists by choice, and because there are actors — whether consciously or unconsciously, and across race — who see to it that it’s upheld. 

The same companies who posted black boxes, rolled out catered lunches and events, or held panel discussions for Juneteenth over the last few years have scaled back not only out of (unnecessary) compliance, but because many never had true intentions of genuinely advancing DEI at their places of work. And when the opportunity presented itself to change course, they seized it.

In these same institutions, Black women are expected to lead, manage teams, mentor others, and perform excellence without support. We’re hired for visibility and then left without the tools, authority, or autonomy to succeed. We’re expected to be saviors in spaces that won’t even protect us.

Symbolism v. Substance

Remember that enslaved Africans in Galveston, Texas learned they were free nearly two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed. That delay was no accident, just like today’s delays in equity, power-sharing, and justice at work are intentional.

It’s not that institutions can’t do better. It’s that they won’t — unless they’re pushed.

A holiday without change is a distraction. A DEI statement without systemic shifts is meaningless. Celebrating freedom while maintaining workplace oppression is hypocrisy.

If we’re serious about honoring Juneteenth, then we have to start asking different questions, such as:

Who holds power in your organization—and who’s being exploited to maintain it?

What does real safety, rest, and repair look like for Black women at work?

Are you willing to divest from performative allyship and invest in transformational justice?

Liberation means:

• Pay equity, not just praise.

• Healing spaces, not just headcounts.

• Structural shifts, not just symbolic gestures.

And most importantly, it means letting go of the myth that freedom was ever fully granted. We are still fighting for it—every day, in every room we enter.

Juneteenth is not just about what happened in 1865. It’s about the ongoing struggle for liberation today. And if your workplace isn’t actively part of that struggle, then it’s complicit in our continued bondage.

So this Juneteenth, don’t just post the quote or order the cupcakes — do the work.

Schedule a consultation with me to begin your journey now.