The last thing we want is for Juneteenth to devolve into ‘St. Blacktrick’s Day’ or ‘Negro de Mayo.’

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  • Juneteenth celebrations vary widely, from parties to prayer services, reflecting its evolving nature.
  • The holiday has transitioned from a primarily Black observance to a federal holiday, prompting questions about appropriate celebration.
  • Concerns exist about the potential for Juneteenth to be commercialized and reduced to stereotypes, similar to St. Patrick’s Day or Cinco de Mayo.

There’s a big question swirling around Juneteenth: How do we celebrate it?

It’s something organizers and activists are asking themselves as battles over history education and workplace diversity initiatives dominate debates and cross racial lines.

Consider me cautiously optimistic and skeptically nervous. We’ve got a chance to get this right, but the George Floyd protests of 2020 and the Kendrick Lamar 2025 Super Bowl halftime concert have showed us just how far the gap is between racial progressives and social conservatives.

Let’s take a second to reflect on where we are and where we could go with the nation’s newest federal holiday.

How are people celebrating Juneteenth?

Across the nation, Juneteenth gatherings have ranged from loud parties to quiet prayer services.

These days, it’s easy to find food trucks, panel discussions, live music, storytelling, history presentations, barbecue contests, spades tournaments, line dances (I know my family can’t gather anywhere without doing the hustle), softball games and good-ol’ fashioned speechifying.

There’s so much variety because Juneteenth isn’t like the Fourth of July or Christmas with traditions that have become part of our national DNA.

For the last 200 years or so, it’s been a Black thing, and we wouldn’t expect anyone else to understand.

Why do Black people have their own holiday?

On its face, this question is wild.

Does anyone ask the same thing about Hanukkah or St. Patrick’s Day or Cinco de Mayo?

Aside from that, Juneteenth has been for all Americans since 2021, at least.

Despite the emancipation that Juneteenth celebrates, Black people have been living in two cultures throughout American history.

We’ve got our own national anthem (“Lift Every Voice and Sing”), holiday season (Kwanzaa), Thanksgiving foods (sweet potato pie, please), music (Kendrick Lamar didn’t come up with that halftime show from scratch), public figures (believe in Charlamagne tha God), authors (Angie Thomas), sports legends (Josh Gibson, Satchel Paige and Cool Papa Bell, and that’s just baseball) and cultural traditions (like sitting in a chair for half a day to get your hair braided before vacation.)

It’s a natural response to being shut out of so many mainstream places and spaces.

Is it OK to celebrate Juneteenth if you aren’t Black?

Of course, but people from other racial backgrounds are guests, in this case. Good guests take pains to avoid offending their hosts. (For example, I don’t offer coffee to my LDS friends or bacon to my Jewish friends.)

Is there a wrong way to celebrate Juneteenth?

Absolutely. This is a “Saturday Night Live” sketch waiting to happen.

There shouldn’t be any blackface or watermelon jokes. And, please, don’t wear a MAGA hat to the cookout. 

But mostly, I’m afraid of how Black culture might be reduced to stereotypes or warped beyond recognition.

Remember when I mentioned St. Patrick’s Day and Cinco de Mayo?

I don’t think anyone had green beer or leprechauns in mind when they decided to honor the patron saint of Ireland in the early 1600s.

And why do so many people think Cinco de Mayo is just an excuse for half off margaritas and tacos?   

Do we really want Juneteenth to devolve into “St. Blacktrick’s Day” or “Negro de Mayo?”

Lord knows, there are enough Black stereotypes to keep Michael Che and Colin Jost busy every weekend for the next 10 years, at least.

Let’s not do that, please.  

So … what should we do?

Remember that the Black American experience is unique and try to honor it.

For me, I can’t think about the Black experience without thinking about separation.

People were forced onto slave ships and separated from all that they knew. Children were separated from parents on auction blocks. Families were separated during the Great Migration. And we’re still reeling from the separation of the prison epidemic.

It’s a good time to find a community of people and celebrate the racial progress we’ve made over the last few decades.

(For example, when Kamala Harris ran for president, it was more about her being a woman than about her being Black. That would have been an unimaginable reality for any rational person during the civil rights era.)

And given all the separation Black Americans have faced through history, it would be fitting to celebrate in a community gathering — the bigger, the better.

Can you celebrate Juneteenth at home?

Sure, you can. Especially if you have the day off. Some people don’t like crowds.                         

Do I get the day off?

Maybe. You’ll have to check with your employer. Private businesses aren’t required to give employees the day off, paid or otherwise.

And if you do get the day off, schedule it appropriately with your supervisor. 

Just a guess here, but it’s probably a bad idea to just skip work without telling anyone.

If I celebrate Juneteenth from home, how should I do it?

Good question.

I remember being a kid and watching “The Ten Commandments” every Easter and “A Christmas Story” to celebrate the birth of Baby Jesus.

I’m not sure there’s a Black Hollywood equivalent, but Tyler Perry or Spike Lee might have some ideas.

Maybe play your favorite Sidney Poitier movie on a loop and call it high cotton? (Black people have our own way of saying “good,” too.)

The balance for me is celebrating Black resilience without spending too much time reliving Black trauma.

Juneteenth came about when enslaved people in Texas finally learned about their freedom about two years after the Emancipation Proclamation.

We’ve had to overcome a lot just to exist, and some of us are thriving.

Makes sense. Anything else?

Yeah. Celebrate it now because we need the momentum. The way things are going in Washington, D.C, we can’t be certain Juneteenth will remain a federal holiday forever.

Reach Moore at gmoore@azcentral.com or 602-444-2236. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @SayingMoore.

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