J.R. Johnson

Today, America celebrates Juneteenth.

I’ve written about this new federal holiday before, but if you’d like to know more, here are a couple of articles which may interest you:

Juneteenth: What It Is And How It Is Observed – NPR

“Everybody went wild. We all felt like heroes … just like that, we were free.”

For even more detail, check out this longer read by historian Henry Louis Gates, Jr.: What Is Juneteenth?

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In a more personal take on history, I’ve always wondered how it must feel to be one of the many Black people in the US who are intimately related to the nation’s Confederate past.

I need wonder no more.

A favorite aunt was going through boxes of material from my grandmother and discovered discharge papers for a Confederate soldier, who also happens to be my great great grandfather.

Oh.

While I was quite surprised at this (and other new family history, ranging from the darker side of Georgia to the darker side of Germany), in some important ways it really is encouraging. 

History is change, and much of this story is positive.

Still, I’m not going to lie. It feels a little weird. But again, encouraging.

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