On June 19, 1865, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, to announce the freedom of more than 250,000 enslaved Black people. That delayed promised of liberty laid bare a hard truth: in America, justice for Black people has always been postponed, resisted, and incomplete.
Juneteenth is a celebration of that delayed freedom and serves as a reminder that the work of true justice is ongoing.
A functional freedom demands more than a historical moment
A child cloaked in systemic barriers, under-resourced schools, unsafe streets, inadequate healthcare, is not truly free. A family struggling under economic burdens lacks freedom. Today’s inequities reflect yesterday’s injustices left unaddressed.
CDF’s commitment to real liberation
At CDF, we continue the work Juneteenth charges us to do by:
- Advocating for policies that affirm the dignity and rights of every child
- Investing in leadership development that equips young adults to tell their stories and transform their communities
- Expanding access to quality education and ensuring culturally affirming curriculum through CDF Freedom Schools®
Juneteenth reminds us that while freedom may be declared, it must also be defended, deepened, and delivered every day.
CDF President and CEO Rev. Dr. Starsky Wilson reminds us that we, “must put heart, hand, and head together to prepare for the strongest, greatest, most significant work that one can do, which is to make sure we appropriately form a world that might actually help to shape the best for and of our children.”
This reflection speaks directly to Juneteenth’s meaning: freedom isn’t a past event, it is a living promise we must deliver on.
This Juneteenth, we write not only in remembrance, but with resolve. We write to reflect on a history of resilience. We write to act, for young people denied full justice. We write as a national community called to make freedom real and complete.
Because freedom delayed is justice denied.
Liberation is not finished. Not in Houston, Texas in 1865, and not in our country today. If Black children remain more likely to be punished, underserved in school, or excluded from opportunity, then justice isn’t justice at all.
Juneteenth calls us to celebrate, but also to build. To stand, speak, push, vote, organize, and invest in communities that hold the promise of America’s future.