Celebrating #Juneteenth Commemorations from Africa With Global Meaning

By Takura Zhangazha*

Experiencing African-American culture and history from the viewpoint of being geographically located on the mother continent of Africa has largely been almost to desire it.  Not just from the vantage point of how the same has strongly influenced contemporary young Africans’ cultural, political and economic perceptions of who they are or who they may in one way or the other desire to be.  Collectively and individually.  

Even as we also know that these perceptions are also influenced significantly by the organic historical struggles against the Trans-Atlantic slave trade and the repressive inhumane long-duree enslavement of black Americans.  

As well as in the now by the contemporary #BlackLivesMatter movement which is almost global except not so much on the African continent. 

This to me means that no matter which African American film, sports or music stars we in the Diaspora or at home on the continent admire the most, we cannot wish our shared history away.  Both its global anti-colonial struggles and more specifically for this short write up the Emancipation Proclamation that Juneteenth 2021 commemorations are essentially about. 

These are held on 19 June every year mainly in the USA and essentially mark the national remembrance of the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 that legally freed all African American slaves.  It however only became federally effective with the defeat of the southern slave owning state of Texas on 19 June 1865.  But until recently it had not been universally recognized as a public holiday across all of the United States.  On the day there are however many state supported or independent events to mark its historical importance and ongoing relevance to the struggles against inequality by African Americans. Be it in the form of marches for example as was the case last year 2020 for #BlackLivesMatter.  Hence the commemorations are referred to as the Juneteenth celebrations.  

From a Pan African perspective these commemorative events are important in reclaiming the global placement, struggles and emancipation of all Africans across the world.  Be they in an historical or latter day African Diaspora in the ‘West, East, South America and Australasia.  And also where we on the motherland itself.  

Even as our various black emancipation struggle contexts differ either by way of geography or social contexts, it is the common thread of our shared historical struggles for revolutionary emancipation and equality that binds us all together.  As opposed to any assumptions of tokenism, black people all over the world have always stood more in solidarity with each other and other oppressed peoples’ of the world as our struggles for equality have had small and large victories.  

It may be time that we begin to expand a reclamation of emancipation to younger Africa’s consciousness.  And it begins by enabling them to recognize their own organic and historical struggles for emancipation. An emancipation that as evidenced by global struggles today, is one that remains incomplete. And it therefore continues, in many different forms. As it has to. And as handed from one generation to the next. 

*Takura Zhangazha writes here in his personal capacity.