In 1862, Abraham Lincoln declared that on Jan. 1 of the following year, those forced into the bonds of enslavement would be set free. The news slowly turned into jubilation as it spread across the South and through Texas. Two years later, news reached Galveston, Texas, and slaves were freed June 19, 1865. A celebration known as Juneteenth \u2014 or \u201cFreedom Day\u201d \u2014 has been celebrated ever since and carries rich Black cultures such as traditional dancing, singing, poetry recitations and readings of the Emancipation Proclamation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over 155 years later, Harding University commemorated its first installment of Juneteenth. Harding\u2019s soccer coach Gregory Harris gave a prayer at the event recalling the mistreatment of his forefathers and asking for healing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cToday we gather to remember our predecessors who suffered oppression under the painful, dehumanizing and evil system of a new world slave trade,\u201d Harris said. \u201cFor centuries, men and women were abused, violated and murdered. They were beaten, but not broken. They were knocked down, but they continued to rise.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jason Darden, instructor of Bible and ministry, paved the way for this ceremony to take place on Harding\u2019s campus and spoke at the event. Darden said, for as long as he can remember, his family has come together in honor of this holiday to eat his grandmother\u2019s gumbo and listen to his grandfather\u2019s stories of deliverance and perseverance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was a celebration of how far we\u2019ve come,\u201d Darden said. \u201cThey were happy times for us. I think of family when I think of Juneteenth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Darden shared his family\u2019s close ties with enslavement and their history of liberation in America. Five generations ago, Darden\u2019s great-grandmother, great-aunt and cousin were sold into slavery in 1836 from West Africa and brought to Galveston. Darden\u2019s ancestors were sold as slaves and worked under a man by the name of William J. Darden. After years of forced labor, Darden\u2019s family heard of their new-found liberty and asked the question, \u201cWhere do we go?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Darden\u2019s family remained in Galveston where his great-grandmother and great-grandfather were born under the oppressive era of the Jim Crow Laws. Due to the pressure of segregation, Darden\u2019s family took part in the Great Migration, in which African Americans moved from the South to the North and West states of America. They traveled to San Francisco, where his great-grandfather joined the Army. Two generations later, Darden\u2019s grandfather and father graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, despite the oppression and discouragement from many people. His father served in the United States Army for over 30 years, retired as a lieutenant colonel, and is now a professor at Pepperdine University. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI share this story so that people can understand that it hasn\u2019t been easy,\u201d Darden said. \u201cEven as a 39-year-old, I\u2019ve experienced prejudice, hatred and racism.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Darden touched on the Black Lives Matter Movement due to the sudden media attention of social injustice across America this summer. Names such as George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Jacob Blake have raised awareness of police brutality towards Black Americans, and Darden did not shy away from this discussion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhy doesn\u2019t America love us?\u201d Darden said. \u201cThat is a question we ask ourselves almost every single day. I\u2019ll ask again, why doesn\u2019t America love us? It\u2019s not enough to not be a racist.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He thanked Harding for allowing this Juneteenth memorial to take place on campus but said there is more to be done by the University to help end prejudice and racism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many faculty and staff admitted to Darden that they did not know about Juneteenth before the University held the memorial. Tiffany Byers, the head of Diversity Services at Harding, shed some light on the history behind Juneteenth. She spoke of hope, tribulation and heartache. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cJuneteenth is not about race, it is about liberty,\u201d Byers said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Darden said he believes the Juneteenth memorial was a stepping stone toward a necessary transformation in the University and nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBringing awareness is extremely important to me,\u201d Darden said. \u201cI believe ignorance produces fear, and fear produces hate. As long as I\u2019m at Harding, I have an obligation to bring awareness to the plight of the African diaspora in America.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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