“What are we doing to truly become free?” – Chuck Jigsaw Creekmur

Juneteenth has always been personal to me. It is more than a holiday. It is also my dad’s birthday. 

It is history, culture and celebration of sorts. It is also a mirror. Every year, June 19 asks us the same uncomfortable question: are we truly free, or are we just better decorated in our bondage?  At a Juneteenth celebration, I saw a man with a “Free-ish” shirt and it really hit the bullseye. 

Years ago, I spoke with Dr. Opal Lee, the “Grandmother of Juneteenth,” when she was still pushing for the holiday to be recognized nationally. She reminded us all that enslaved Black people in Texas were not told they were free until June 19, 1865, over two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. She also made it clear that the fight was bigger than her or even the moment. It was just a moment within a movement. 

Now we sit in 2026. Juneteenth is a federal holiday. There are all sorts of concerts, cookouts, and branded campaigns. But there are also horrible AI flyers, roll-backs on every front and meaningless hashtags. Freedom cannot be reduced to a day off. In fact, I think it should be a day on.

In 2023, I wrote that my enthusiasm for Juneteenth had become complicated. I still loved the holiday. I am always proud my dad’s day is the same as a holiday associated with freedom. But, at that time, I questioned whether we were doing enough beyond celebrating. Were we becoming more free mentally, spiritually, physically and systemically? Or were we performing freedom while accepting oppression in new forms? 

That question feels even louder now. Damn. 

Freedom in 2026 means owning our platforms. It means teaching our children the truth even when the truth makes America uncomfortable. I have encouraged my friends and their kids to watch the acclaimed docu-series Exterminate All The Brutes or pick up Black AF History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America. Force kids to put away the screens and do meaningful work. Protecting Black women, Black elders, Black children and secure Black futures. Freedom means economic power, media power, political power and spiritual discipline. As the old folks used to say, “Hold the line” and move forward.

It also means loving each other better. Respect each other. 

Last year, I wrote about unity, trust and pure Black love after a simple moment reminded me that Juneteenth is not just about what was done to us. It is about what we still owe each other. Dr. Opal Lee said we are all in the same boat. I realize everybody does not share that belief.

Opal Lee will turn 100 this year, and her Walk for Freedom continues with 2.5 miles symbolizing the two-and-a-half-year delay between emancipation and the news reaching Texas. That walk is the lesson  and the movement. It is the new moment, because Freedom moves. It is increasingly elusive as it movies. Celebrations are fine, but organization is beautiful. 

So this Juneteenth, enjoy the food and parades. Play the music. Honor the ancestors. Wear the colors. But after the celebration, do something. Build something. Fund something. Heal something. Teach something or someone. Defend something. 

Because freedom in 2026 is not simply remembering that they finally told us we were free.

Freedom is making sure nobody can ever again delay the truth, steal the future or convince us that survival and liberation are the same thing.