For me as a white person, the primary thing I think about with respect to the Emancipation Proclamation and Juneteenth is the racist reign of terror that followed.

The Ku Klux Klan. Lynchings. The horrors of Jim Crow.

If I were to celebrate Juneteenth, I would be saying that emancipation was a wonderful event that freed enslaved Black people. It wasn’t, it isn’t, and it’s not something I can ever feel joyous about.

Maybe the federal holiday will become a true history teaching event, but I’ll be shocked if that’s actually what happens.