1 00:00:00,440 --> 00:00:02,607 juneteenth has long been celebrated in 2 00:00:02,607 --> 00:00:04,440 african american communities and 3 00:00:04,440 --> 00:00:06,440 consciousness of it has been raised 4 00:00:06,440 --> 00:00:08,607 since it has been proclaimed a federal 5 00:00:08,607 --> 00:00:10,607 holiday . For many of us , there is 6 00:00:10,607 --> 00:00:12,551 much to learn about juneteenth . I 7 00:00:12,551 --> 00:00:14,551 submit that one of the best ways to 8 00:00:14,551 --> 00:00:16,607 learn is to put it into a historical 9 00:00:16,607 --> 00:00:18,829 context . The history of the Washington 10 00:00:18,829 --> 00:00:20,996 metropolitan area is reflective of our 11 00:00:20,996 --> 00:00:23,329 larger , deeper history in this country . 12 00:00:23,329 --> 00:00:25,384 Like many other places , the DMV was 13 00:00:25,384 --> 00:00:27,551 built on the bones of plantations that 14 00:00:27,551 --> 00:00:29,718 were once worked by people enslaved by 15 00:00:29,718 --> 00:00:32,000 our forebears . The shadows of some of 16 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:34,380 these places exist now , only in time 17 00:00:34,390 --> 00:00:36,557 and in the cultural effects of slavery 18 00:00:37,040 --> 00:00:39,151 today . Let us remember nearby places 19 00:00:39,151 --> 00:00:41,550 such as the Abington plantation whose 20 00:00:41,550 --> 00:00:44,010 owners name alexander was adopted for 21 00:00:44,010 --> 00:00:46,710 the nearby city of alexandria . We 22 00:00:46,710 --> 00:00:48,877 should do this to remind ourselves and 23 00:00:48,877 --> 00:00:50,988 each other that emancipation came too 24 00:00:50,988 --> 00:00:54,000 late for some and also to remember that 25 00:00:54,000 --> 00:00:56,167 this city did not spring up out of the 26 00:00:56,167 --> 00:00:58,222 grass , but rather was lifted by the 27 00:00:58,222 --> 00:01:00,333 sweat and suffering of the people who 28 00:01:00,333 --> 00:01:02,278 gain nothing by its construction , 29 00:01:02,278 --> 00:01:04,333 whose bones may well lie beneath the 30 00:01:04,333 --> 00:01:06,444 massive modern constructions nearby . 31 00:01:06,444 --> 00:01:08,860 Oppressed even in death , the having 32 00:01:08,860 --> 00:01:11,060 implantation lives on now a pile of 33 00:01:11,060 --> 00:01:13,390 bricks next to a modern parking garage , 34 00:01:13,400 --> 00:01:15,456 unnoticed by the thousands of people 35 00:01:15,456 --> 00:01:18,360 who pass by every day , like the memory 36 00:01:18,360 --> 00:01:20,304 of the institution of slavery , it 37 00:01:20,304 --> 00:01:22,527 exists at the edge of our consciousness 38 00:01:23,540 --> 00:01:25,850 dr martin Luther King Jr reminded us in 39 00:01:25,850 --> 00:01:27,628 his letter from his cell in the 40 00:01:27,628 --> 00:01:30,000 Birmingham jail . That shallow 41 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:32,167 understanding from people of good will 42 00:01:32,167 --> 00:01:34,230 is more frustrating than absolute 43 00:01:34,230 --> 00:01:36,230 misunderstanding from people of ill 44 00:01:36,230 --> 00:01:40,160 will , lukewarm acceptance is much more 45 00:01:40,160 --> 00:01:42,271 bewildering than outright rejection . 46 00:01:44,240 --> 00:01:46,240 Let us all today remember those who 47 00:01:46,240 --> 00:01:48,770 were enslaved here and elsewhere , so 48 00:01:48,770 --> 00:01:50,937 that we might understand just a sliver 49 00:01:50,937 --> 00:01:52,826 of the joy that juneteenth offers 50 00:01:53,740 --> 00:01:55,851 through juneteenth . Let us commit to 51 00:01:55,851 --> 00:01:57,820 each other that we will not forget 52 00:01:57,830 --> 00:02:00,040 either the bitterness of slavery nor 53 00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:02,630 the triumph of freedom . Let us carry 54 00:02:02,630 --> 00:02:04,780 that teaching with us into the future 55 00:02:04,940 --> 00:02:06,996 as a nation that wants to learn from 56 00:02:06,996 --> 00:02:08,360 its past , not revive it .