Make Your Juneteenth A Real Hootenanny a.k.a. The Commercialization, Commodification, and White-ification of Black Freedom for White Audiences

When droves of white people "discovered" that Juneteenth existed last year I immediately found myself thinking of commercialization and homogenization. Why? You know that old saying, “This is why we can’t have nice things?” Yeah, that’s how I feel about Juneteenth garnering the national attention it’s receiving. And I feel this way because white people are gonna mess Juneteenth up for Black people like white people and white society does for everything non-white. And now that President Biden has signed into law that Juneteenth is a national holiday, I can see the flood gates opening and the waters of “white people have to put their hands all over this to make it a white thang” flowing in and submerging us all. I’m not saying this to be facetious.

I’m saying this because it’s already starting to happen.

Now don’t get me wrong - I'm not against people knowing what Juneteenth is and what it represents. Hell, I’m Black and I didn’t know about Juneteenth until I was in my early twenties. I went to predominantly Black primary schools in Detroit, Michigan, for 90% of my early education and we sure as hell never even uttered the word Juneteenth in a history class or even during Black History Month (also known as “White U.S. America ‘Cares’ About Black People For A Month” Month). I would never block someone from learning something about the history of the country and the world they live in. Do I want people, white people, to understand the significance of Juneteenth to Black and African American folx in the United States? Of course. You can’t learn and grow into being an actively anti-racist and equity-driven person without understanding colonialist history, enslavement, and the impacts of white supremacy on Black bodies for generations. But that belief comes with one big hurdle: there are still way too many white people who aren’t interested in learning and growth outside of surface action and bragging points. If it doesn’t have the right visual then it ain’t happenin’.

You see, whiteness wants to “celebrate” and “recognize” other cultures and non-heteronormative aspects of humanity in ways that do not disturb the comforts that whiteness provides. It’s why for those of us who grew up in the United States, we’ve all spent our formative years learning about the same 10-15 “exemplary” Black folx during the month of February. It’s why Thanksgiving and Columbus Day and the Confederacy are all still spoken of so eloquently when all three of those things harmed, stole from, and murdered Indigenous and Native folx. And it is why the 20th and 21st centuries have been a stage for whiteness “celebrating” and “recognizing” other cultures by appropriating, commercializing, and commodifying them.

White supremacy, colonialism, they are all rooted in using melanated people for profit. I mean, Cinco de Mayo. Need I say more? Talk about a racist, tasteless, drunken misrepresentation of a real moment in Mexican history. MLK Day sales at furniture stores? Those things have nothing to do with celebrating life or recognizing triumphant or harmful moments in the lives of melanted communities. Gentrified Mexican cuisine, blankets and throws with faux Native prints on them (oh, the disgusting symbolism of fucking blankets as a profitable item), Black movies where white people are the “perfect ally” and savior - it’s all about making a profit off of the commodification and gentrification of non-white cultures, their histories included. It’s the kinds of things that allow white people to stay in their comfort zones while “engaging with different cultures.” It allows whiteness to pick and choose the aspects of melanated cultures it deems as attractive, cool, fun, and flashy and dupes itself into embracing differences. Because you know, the fact that whiteness has spent centuries harming, murdering, and oppressing people of color is an afterthought when there are mini dreamcatchers to sell to white folx can hang ‘em off their rearview mirrors.

The thing with the commercialization and commodification of non-white culture by whiteness is that it’s subconsciously (and for some white folx a very conscious) a self-gratification maneuver. It’s not a real curiosity around learning about cultures and ethnicities that aren’t your own. It’s more a belief that showing how much you adore certain aspects of cultures of color that you can make into something cool to wear, decorate your home with, or throw a tasteless themed party around somehow eradicates the discomfort of being the white person who constantly harms people of color at work and in your community. It’s faux solidarity without actually having to fight for someone other than yourself, be uncomfortable with your white supremacist ideals, or grow as a person. In short? It’s performative allyship that you can buy.

And it’s already starting around Juneteenth.

For example, Target, Walmart, and Amazon are currently selling Juneteenth shirts.

A quick screenshot of some of the “wonderful” Juneteenth apparel available on Jeff Bezo’s nest egg - err, Amazon,

You know that these were not made by Black people and, if they were, they are being paid next to nothing per shirt. And if they aren’t made by Black people? I’ll let you guess how much of the revenue from these shirts are going to Black communities.

And if you’re white and not sure how to celebrate Juneteenth? Don’t worry - the New York Times, USA Today, Good Housekeeping, and The Today Show have got you covered. After they all give you the briefest of history lessons into what Juneteenth is a celebration of Black life for Blacks and African Americans in the United States they’ve got whole damn itineraries and Pinterest lists for white people to follow to throw their own Juneteenth hootenanny! Like, you know the only Black folx on staff at these organizations were bestowed the unenviable tasks of putting together these tips and lists, with white editors chopping their words up and gentrifying the content for good measure before releasing them to the public to look learned.

And white people, before you go there, no these articles and guides are not written for Black folx. I can assure you that Black folx are not sitting at home in a panic thinking about where they can find out more information about Juneteenth and having eureka moments where they shout out, “I know - USA Today!” It ain’t happenin’. These articles are written for white audiences. Period.

So where does this leave Juneteenth as a celebration and a day of reflection and community for Black folx, now that the profit-mongering and merchandising have begun? Well, for Black folx it will continue to be a celebration and a day of reflection and community for Black folx. We’ve been celebrating Black lives, Black emancipation, Black joy, and Black resilience for this long without inviting white folx to the cookout with their raisin-filled potato salads and sweet potato pie-inspired crepes with whipped creams emulsions to the shindig and we’ll continue to do so. As much as white people want to be a part of Juneteenth the truest truth in all of this is that Juneteenth is not for white people and it will never be for white people. There’s not enough commercialization and commodification in the world that will ever make the holiday something whiteness should ever feel comfortable celebrating. I mean c’mon, white people. Juneteenth exists because your colonialist ancestors thought that it was cool beans to enslave, sexually assault, rape, beat, and murder my people then not ensure we were all aware that our original enslavement had been ended until two damn years after the fact. Do you really think you should be celebrating alongside Blacks and African Americans on June 19? Don’t answer that with anything other than “no.” There’s one problem with the answer being no, though.

Whiteness does not take no for an answer.

One thing I do know about whiteness is that even when a message is delivered clearly and succinctly by Black U.S. America that we are not interested in your meager offerings of faux solidarity and that you should only drop us a line when you’re starting to do the real shit, you’re going to respond with, “OK, but…”. You’re going to still disrespect our boundaries and our asks for you to assume some individual and possibly even collective responsibility for the white supremacist systems and ideologies y’all created. You’re going to push your agenda and you’re going to “celebrate” Juneteenth. And you’re going to find ways to make money off of our pain because, well, that’s what white supremacy and its buddy capitalism are all about. You’re going to have your hootenanny, damnit, because Black lives matter…while you go back to work on Monday and ask your Black co-workers how they celebrated Juneteenth. You’ll tell them how you spent your Juneteenth even though they didn’t ask you. You’ll then treat your Black female and femme colleagues like they’re difficult and adhere to every Black stereotype imaginable when addressing them and thinking about them. Nothing about the overwhelming majority of white people will change come Monday, other than that many of them now have another day off based on the harm their ancestors caused.

The beat goes on, meaningful holiday be damned.

I mean, white people treat Cinco de Mayo, Memorial Day, Labor Day, and Independence Day like hootenannies that diminish the reasons for the celebrations so why wouldn’t they do it to Juneteenth too? It would be preposterous for me, for any Black person, to expect otherwise. I can see Juneteenth weekend sales at car dealerships, Juneteenth drink deals at bars, Juneteenth episodes of Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, annual iHeartRadio Juneteenth concerts with John Legend and Common, and white people wearing Juneteenth shirts and kufis while drinking toilet fruit punch at predominantly white parties replete with watermelon salads and cornflake-coated fried chicken that they invite their one Black friend to on the horizon. And that’s one ugly horizon. But it’s the horizon we’ve got.

Happy Juneteenth, my Black, and African American fam. I hope you get the opportunity to rest, be in community with your Black friends and families, eat some good food, and celebrate the power and joy of being Black and as free as we’re ever going to be. I send you my love. White people on the other hand? Juneteenth is not your holiday to celebrate, white folx. It’s not for you. This weekend should be about you starting or continuing your learning, dismantling your connections to and perpetuation of white supremacy, donating your time and/or money to Black people and Black causes (and not just so you can tweet about it and get kudos from other white people), and not act like it’s a day off for you. Quit trying to make a profit off of or a feel-good moment out of Black energy.

And quit putting random shit in your potato salad. Seriously. Stop. Raisins? Like why?