Office workers try to derail Juneteenth party with ‘petty’ Fourth of July decorations: ‘Black people are Americans too right?’
Juneteenth is still a relatively new holiday, and it is still taking some people time to integrate it into their lives.
TikToker KP (@preshia1248) posted a video of her side of the office preparing to celebrate Juneteenth with decorations. However, the other side of the office responded to Juneteenth decor with Fourth of July and United States-focused decorations.
“We decided to celebrate Juneteenth on our side [of] the office, then ‘they’ decided to put up 4th of July to be petty,” wrote @preshia1248 in her caption.
After seeing the divide in the office, viewers were shocked in the comments.
“Why is that the response,” replied @youngz_boy_kushal. Black people are Americans too right?”
“No bc my jaw dropped,” replied @marifel.k.
In 2021, President Joe Biden signed a bill that set Juneteenth (June 19) as a federal holiday. Currently, 28 states recognize the holiday, with a majority of them giving all state government workers the day off.
As more states add Juneteenth into their holiday rotation, Americans continue to learn the meaning and significance of the day.
The holiday began as a Texas tradition. In 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation legally freed enslaved people of the Confederate states in rebellion against the Union; on June 19, 1865, Union troops reached Texas to announce that enslaved people there were free. Juneteenth is a day that celebrates freedom. However, there have been mishaps in how it has been celebrated.
Recently, Juneteenth celebration banners in downtown Greenville, S.C., were taken down because they had two white people on them instead of Black people. The concern was that the banners didn’t fully celebrate the fact that Juneteenth commemorates a monumental day in the African American community.
In the spirit of taking control of the holiday, African American creators and writers have made videos and written articles about how to celebrate Juneteenth as a non-Black person.
According to author Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman, one way to celebrate the holiday is to simply stand by Black people.
“White people should celebrate this holiday in the way that centers Black Americans,” she told Destinee Adams of NPR. “Just don’t interrupt Black folks who are just trying to have a great time.”
Juneteenth is still in the process of being accepted nationwide, and celebrations of the holiday on a national scale are still new. Yet, there are abundant resources that are designed to help everyone celebrate Juneteenth properly.
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