As originally published on Medium (https://medium.com/@AlexGInNYC/the-juneteenth-conversation-continues-6b8b66efec49)
We all know the national holidays : Memorial Day; July the 4th; MLK Day.
When it is added, Juneteenth will be worth the National Holiday for sure.
I personally did not want to comment on the day without having fuller knowledge of it. To acknowledge the emancipation of enslaved Texans thanks to General Order №3 and the Emancipation Proclamation will bring us a nation ready to being more FREE. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Order_No._3) Do we have freedoms? Heck yes we do! Can we improve the way we are free? If the last few months and movements show us anything, it shows us we can and MUST do better. We should all really work to make sure all races feel free in this beautiful United States of America. Hence, why I’m writing on June 20th. To me, commenting on the day itself is great but let’s focus on the voices speaking up AFTER a momentous holiday.
Many would argue the protesters are the voice. I want to take it a step further. Let’s again look at the initiatives opening up for minorities in the business sector. I just had Benjamin Aronson of MediaCom Global on my podcast to discuss his initiative. Aronson says his drive to open the door stems from seeing “my best man at my wedding , big strong black kid who studied engineering at Lehigh, break up a fight between two white people and he is the one the cops would tackle and arrest. I’ve seen this stuff too much!” You can listen to our conversation here, (https://www.spreaker.com/episode/31800531) . If you have initiatives to discuss please email me at alex.garrett21@yahoo.com!
We should also take the time to honor those men and women who commit to serve their communities as law enforcement. People of color do join the police force too, albeit a low number of 13.3% as of 2018. (https://datausa.io/profile/soc/police-officers#demographics). Yet, the fact that they are the second most ethnicity policing gives us hope that more are willing to join the force and defend this great country from the unlawful. It should not go unnoticed that the Capital Hill Autonomous Zone would love to de-fund the Seattle Police. They may not care then, that Carmen Best is African American and Police Chief. Would love to see more of that diversity lead our forces for good! A solid law enforcement helps us protect our freedoms, the basis for which we celebrate ‘Juneteenth’.
Let’s also take a moment to honor the civilian boards keeping our law enforcement in check, so that policing can be respected again. I talked with Florence Finkle , a member of the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement. We talked about her time on the NYC Civilian Complaint Review Board and how we can instill public confidence back in the police through these boards. Finkle believes, “we as taxpayers, members of the public , their employers have a right to see whether a police officer improperly uses a baton and is being properly disciplined.” Listen to more of our conversation here! (https://www.spreaker.com/user/agsportshournyc/alexginnyc-florence-finkle-police-reform)
I’m all about honoring holidays and meaningful dates in America, I just want to see the conversation continue! Will you help me?
The Writings of Alex Garrett 