On this Juneteenth, when the possibility of abolishing racism seems increasingly impossible, let us remember the radical hope of my ancestors who believed the impossible was possible: that chattel slavery would one day be abolished. Let us remember the radical hope of my ancestors when we think about people today who imagine themselves as radical or progressive, who claim they are opposed to racism, but who are deeply cynical of anyone truly working towards the complete abolition of racism. . .whose cynicism would have said to Black people back then: don’t pick less than you can, you’ll get caught; don’t run away, you’ll get whipped; don’t organize such a large freedom revolt, it will fail; don’t join the Union Army, the Confederates will win; don’t give that antislavery message, you’ll be ostracized. . .whose cynicism imagined that enslavers were all-powerful, and enslaved Black people have no power and no comrades in the struggle. . .whose cynicism bred distrust of any abolitionist in a position of influence, any new concept that moved the masses, thinking they must be puppets of all-powerful enslavers. . .whose cynicism ended up causing them to be complicit in conserving the very enslaving structure they claimed to oppose. It is easy to be cynical witnessing enslavers using all their power, policies, violence, and propaganda to preserve slavery, or their political descendants doing the same to preserve racism today. But this cynicism did not win the day when Jubilee came for African Americans in Texas on this day in 1865, when it came later in the year for more African Americans, particularly in border states, when the U.S. added the 13th Amendment to its constitution. What enslavers tried and failed to eradicate won the day. A radical hope of possibility that powered an unrelenting antislavery resistance until the impossible happened. A radical hope of possibility that must power our unrelenting antiracist resistance until the impossible happens again. Celebrate today, on Juneteenth, one of humanity’s greatest powers, what my enslaved Black ancestors never stopped exhibiting: Radical hope. 👊🏿 #Juneteenth

To preserve slavery, enslavers claimed slavery was “positively good” and that abolitionists were making up the terror and exploitation of slavery. To preserve Jim Crow, segregationists claimed public accommodations and institutions were “separate but equal” and that civil rights activists were making up all the racial inequity and injustice. To preserve racism today, the ideological descendants of enslavers and segregationists are claiming that the U.S. is a “colorblind” society and antiracist intellectuals and activists are making up all the racial inequity and injustice. As they strive to preserve racism, we must strive to recognize and combat these repackaged ideas by deepening our understanding of history. Making this #BlackHistoryMonth all the more critical. 👊🏿