Sometimes memories of my childhood just roll around in my brain. I play out the situation and then wonder how I might react today. The holiday of Juneteenth has brought back memories of my sixth grade teacher. While teaching us about the civil war, he informed us that the slaves did not leave the plantations immediately after emancipation because ‘they were happy with their situations and didn’t want to leave.’ At the time I was incredulous and I probably made a jaw dropping gasp, but I didn’t have the words - other than rude, 11 year old ones - to answer him. I remember wanting to cry - not only because he was so, so wrong, but I think I worried others would believe him. I am still angered by his statement. I wonder where he learned such an awful lie, and why he believed it. To my sixth grade mind as well as my present mind, I just wonder how could he possibly have believed that people violently hunted and torn from their homes, who were put on boats like cargo, mistreated, abused, terrorized, purposely separated from family, bought and sold, and treated as though they were less than human - what could possibly make him think that they were too happy to leave? Was he too embarrassed to tell us the truth? Who had indoctrinated him? What did he gain by teaching us something so blatantly wrong? I imagine that if I tried to speak to him about the horrors of slavery, the systemic bias within our present system, and about the many obstacles society placed before the freed slaves and their future generations, he would deny it. Or, just maybe because it is a new era and the two of us have experienced so much more of life, we might have a thoughtful conversation where we both could admit to ways that we have been complicit in a system where all humans are not treated equally. Maybe by speaking honestly and regretfully to one another, we could examine our actions and inactions, and come up with better solutions to promote equality among all of us. As an American and as a Jew, I can never simply put the enslavement of Africans in our past and move on. Daily, in my liturgy, I am reminded that my ancestors were slaves in Egypt, and therefore I must be especially sensitive to the condition of those who are or have been enslaved. I must not oppress others, I must do my best to make sure people are treated fairly and, in my own actions, treat others fairly and with compassion. As a Jew, I believe the dignity of others is primary, not only because I think it is the right thing to do, but because each one of us is created in God’s image. As an American, I hold to the words of our Pledge of Allegiance: “..with liberty and justice for all.” The quote, “no one is free until we are all free” is attributed to many people, from Martin Luther King to another civil rights leader, Fannie Lou Hamer. It rings true to my ears and soul.



Last Shabbat we celebrated the LGBTQ community, yesterday we celebrated fathers, and today we celebrate the day when the last of the enslaved people were emancipated. We have yet to achieve our dreams of equal justice and freedom for all human beings, and we must keep working towards that day, but celebration is always a good start. Happy Juneteenth!!