Juneteenth Is Under Attack Because It Tells the Truth About Power
On Dec. 21, 1848, two people boarded a train in Macon, Ga., beginning a journey to Philadelphia. They were traveling together, but laws, particularly slave codes, made it so they needed to sit in separate cars. To others on the train, everything seemed relatively normal. In their eyes, a white man with an injured arm and bandages on his face had boarded the train with his dark-skinned slave. He sat down in the comfortable "whites only" section while his devoted slave, assured that his "master" was relaxed, proceeded to the crowded "negro" car to find his seat.
On a surface level, the traveling pair symbolized differences in the life experiences of Black men versus white men. At each stop on their four-day journey, the Black man was degraded and sent away to eat and sleep where he would not be seen and where conditions would be subpar. The white man, on the other hand, traveled in luxury, welcomed with sympathy.
In other words, one of the two travelers was seen as a human being with rights to live freely and make their own decisions, to be treated with dignity and care; the other was either infantilized at best or completely dehumanized.
A Juneteenth flag waves in front of the main door of the Department of Commerce, on June 21, 2024.
A Juneteenth flag waves in front of the main door of the Department of Commerce, on June 21, 2024.
Getty Images
What the people they encountered were unaware of was that this duo was relying on the assumptions of their time, the prejudices of their contemporaries, and the dictates of the status quo for far more than a medical trip. They were heading to Philadelphia in search of freedom from it all, to release the chains of captivity that bound them, and to escape the cruel, inhumane practice of slavery.
This quest was not solely for the liberation of William Craft, the Black man. It was also for his wife, an enslaved woman named Ellen, who cut her hair to neck length, sewed herself a pair of men's trousers, and wore a hat and glasses to conceal her identity. The couple knew that if Ellen were to pose as a white man she would be required to sign documents on behalf of her "slave," but because both of them had been restricted by law from learning to read or write, they wrapped her arm in bandages and feigned an injury.
As we celebrate Juneteenth this year, all while facing the attempted erasure of this important day on behalf of our current administration, the true story of Ellen and William Craft reveals far more than historical injustice. It shows us how the desire to eliminate the day that commemorates Black American freedom is an attempt to uphold a social order that relies on categorizing human beings based on skin color and sex, a social order that I refer to as American patriarchy. American patriarchy is a system that has long defined national identity by the dominance of white, cisgender, straight, able-bodied men. This ideology has always relied on the exclusion, suppression, and erasure of other histories.
Their story reminds us that understanding and resisting American patriarchy is essential if we hope to create something new.
The Craft's ability to run to freedom in this way displayed a mastery of a book they had been forced to study all their life. Ellen knew her character well because her survival had already depended on it long before she cut her hair and sewed her pants. She had picked up the knowledge she needed to turn American patriarchy into her escape, by observing those who called themselves her masters.
She had been forced to learn the intricacies of American patriarchy from the moment she was born, to examine those who aimed to oppress her down to the smallest of details. Once fluent in their ways, with the story of American patriarchy memorized, she transferred it beautifully into her four-day journey as a white man.
This is why knowledge of Juneteenth, Black Independence Day, is under attack: it threatens the story that power must remain unchallenged.
When we know stories like those of Ellen and William Craft, we know how far we have come, we know we cannot ever stop being keenly aware of what we are facing, and we know we must use that knowledge to escape the traps of American patriarchy. When Juneteenth and all the stories it carries are erased from our institutions, it is not because they are unimportant; it is because they threaten a narrative that insists power must remain concentrated and historical accountability avoided. Juneteenth is a reminder of a different legacy, one of resistance, survival, and the persistent redefinition of what this country can become.
Recognizing Juneteenth, defending its place in our national consciousness, is not just about honoring the past. It is about being fully aware of what we are up against and choosing the kind of future we are willing to fight for.
Anna Malaika Tubbs is a scholar, advocate, and two time bestselling author currently making headlines for her newest release Erased: What American Patriarchy Has Hidden from Us.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
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