By Ashlee Banks, Special to the AFRO
On the eve of Juneteenth, four Democratic senators gathered at the U.S. Capitol for a candid discussion with Black media outlets, using the moment not just to commemorate emancipation but also to issue a pointed call to action.
On June 18, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) and Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) reflected on the historical significance of Juneteenth and the enduring struggle for racial justice in America.
“This is a signal moment for us to center concerns [in the Black community],” said Warnock.
Juneteenth, celebrated annually on June 19, marks the day in 1865 when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas and informed enslaved African Americans that they were free, more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation. Black communities across the country commemorated Juneteenth with celebrations of freedom, family, resistance and remembrance.
During the conversation with reporters, Warnock, a pastor and civil rights advocate, connected the historical legacy of Juneteenth to present-day challenges facing Black Americans such as civil service cuts, economic inequality, health care, voting rights and criminal justice. He described the current political climate as a period of democratic “contraction” that he argues must be seen as a precursor to new growth.
“Democracy sometimes expands, sometimes it contracts. But, even contractions are necessary for new birth,” said Warnock.
He spoke pointedly about the economic impact of federal cuts, particularly on communities like Prince George’s County, Maryland, one of the wealthiest predominantly Black counties in the country and home to many civil service employees.
“This administration is putting a squeeze on us. It’s literally squeezing us economically,” said the Georgia senator. “When I think about these cuts to these civil service jobs, they are disproportionately impacting the Black community…. The impact of that in terms of Black wealth and Black opportunity and prosperity [is profound].”
Sen. Schumer echoed Warnock’s remarks, framing the recognition of Juneteenth as part of a broader, hard-won fight for racial equity, one that demands endurance as much as passion.
“Persistence matters,” said the majority leader. “When Juneteenth passed the Senate, it wasn’t the first time we had tried. Kamala Harris kept going to the floor and they blocked her, but we found a legislative way to get past that.”
In 2021, Juneteenth became a federally recognized holiday after the murder of George Floyd. The legislation passed with bipartisan support after advocates, activists and lawmakers fought for the holiday’s recognition for decades.
The Senate leader drew a direct line between the struggle to establish Juneteenth as a federal holiday and the decades-long battle to recognize Martin Luther King Jr. Day. “I was one of the authors of making MLK a national holiday in the ‘90s,” he recalled. “The racism that we see today was there then, but it took a while. We did it.”
“The lesson of Juneteenth, of MLK Day, and of all these things is that you’ve gotta keep fighting,” Schumer added. “Eventually, you do win. If we didn’t believe that justice is eventually rewarded, we wouldn’t be in this job. But it is hard. It’s a grind. And it’s slow. But if you persist, you can succeed.”
Sen. Booker underscored that neither of those holidays came about because of government goodwill; they were the result of sustained activism and grassroots organizing within the Black community.
“When you ask me about Juneteenth, I’ll tell you this: It wasn’t some kind of beneficence from the Capitol. It wasn’t a beneficence from the government. It was Black folk in America fighting to make it a holiday. And then now it is a holiday, just like we had to do with Martin Luther King’s Day.”
The conversation struck a balance between honoring the victories that Juneteenth symbolizes –such as the end of slavery in the United States – and recognizing the work that remains unfinished.
Warnock called for renewed focus on racial equity in federal policy, from voting rights and policing reform to healthcare and access to economic opportunity.
“All these issues are still central,” he said. “We have to keep them front and center.”