Noliwe Rooks, an author and professor at Cornell University whose work explores race and gender, said in an email Tuesday that this year’s observance had added meaning.
“As a holiday, Juneteenth perfectly encapsulates this moment which is almost equal parts anger over the reminders of how little regard there has generally been for Black life, health and freedom, and the totally unexpected reality that fundamental change has come,” Dr. Rooks said. “Like a shock, change has come.”
Dr. Rooks said that Juneteenth was relatively unknown outside of black people, scholars and those who are around black people. It was unusual for a corporation with a majority of white people to make it a company holiday, she said.
Read the entire article in The New York Times.
