Last weekend, Juneteenth Illinois celebrated both the distribution of its scholarships to its scholars and Juneteenth becoming a state holiday in 2020. Juneteenth Illinois is a Chicago based founded by the Deer family. Juneteenth Illinois was run not just by the Deer family but has been a collaborative effort by multiple different members of the community and including people like Lakesia Collins.
Furthermore, this organization is part of many efforts to recognize the holiday and the historical significance of Juneteenth. It signifies the day the final enslaved African Americans were notified that slavery had ended.
This holiday has been gaining recent popularity, which means that more people know and understand the deeper meaning of the holiday and its historical importance. Juneteenth isn’t just a holiday, it is an acknowledgment that slavery was real and that it happened.
Juneteenth Is Important
The moment that Juneteenth was nationally recognized as a federal holiday was a very important moment in black history. The reason why is that America has been ignoring the history of slavery for a long time. Only recently has the real history of Black oppression become better understood. The fact of the matter is that American chattel slavery is one of the biggest skeletons in its closet. It has been the elephant in every room that has been having a conversation about race and equity.
American chattel slavery destroyed and erased entire cultures while also dehumanizing millions of people. Juneteenth is a recognition of this fact and of the history of American chattel slavery. Juneteenth isn’t just a holiday, it is the shedding of light on the darkest parts of America’s history. The celebration of the recognition of Juneteenth isn’t the only thing that Illinois residents celebrated. Juneteenth Illinois also celebrated the distribution of scholarships to Chicago youth so those young people can make a better life for themselves.
Education Is a Path for Upward Mobility
Education is one of the easiest ways to make sure one doesn’t end up in the class they were born into. College degrees allow for access to higher jobs. The general idea is that when one has a bachelor’s or even a master’s, one has access to jobs that require said bachelor’s or master’s degrees. This allows for socio-economic upward mobility. If one manages to pay for college, they may end up in a different place financially.
This is why people of color and the marginalized, in general, have always tried their hardest to get to and through higher education. College costs are growing more and more every year. “Tuition and fees at private National Universities have jumped 134%,” according to US News. This is why scholarships are so important. Juneteenth Illinois is helping at-risk youth in Chicago pave a better, more equitable future for themselves.
For the Young People of Chicago
Chicago’s young people are one of the city’s most vulnerable populations. The reason why is that many of them live in neighborhoods that are being neglected by the city. With no socioeconomic investment, the young people of Chicago are a generation of people that have to scramble to make ends meet. Unfortunately, many turn to crime as a consequence of concentrated poverty and a lack of any real opportunities.
“The cost of being unable to afford necessities, combined with the lack of opportunity for social and economic advancement, creates a breeding ground for criminal activity,” according to Inside Time.
\What this all means is that Chicago’s young people need as much help that they can get. Without already being in established careers and having no work experience, it is easy to get trapped in the cycle of violent crime. This is why what Juneteenth does is so important. It gives hope to the hopeless, and opportunities to those who had none.
All in all, Juneteenth Illinois is one of many organizations in the cities that is trying their best for the marginalized at-risk populations of Chicago.
Written by Kenneth Mazerat
Sources:
US News: A Look at College Tuition Growth Over 20 Years By Emma Kerr and Sarah Wood
Inside Time: Poverty and Crime by a former prisoner
All images courtesy of The News School
