Beware, Republicans: Juneteenth Now Used to Promote Equity (AKA Race-Based Discrimination)

Whatever Juneteenth once stood for as a state holiday is dead and gone. Today, leftists use the new federal holiday as merely the latest tool to advance “equity” — aka race-based discrimination — and further entrench Critical Race Theory into American society.

That Democrats are using something positive and noncontroversial — the celebration of emancipation and an end to slavery — to push its anti-American agenda is unsurprising. The Left always takes that which is proper and twists it for their own end. What is alarming is how many Republicans are oblivious to this tactic.

To start, consider that leftist success depends upon invoking fear, preying upon the goodwill of Americans, and conning gullible rubes in the GOP. To see a textbook example of that strategy, look no further than how “Juneteenth National Independence Day” came to be.

For background, on June 19, 1865, Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas, and announced slavery had ended via the Emancipation Proclamation more than two years earlier. Since then, varying communities have celebrated “Juneteenth” most predominantly in Texas. Its regional significance and place in black culture should not be understated — even if not recognized by the majority of Americans.

In 2020, after George Floyd’s death, activists began pushing for its national holiday status. President Donald Trump, reportedly advised that supporting such a holiday would curry favor with the black vote in the 2020 election, voiced support for Juneteenth.

“This Juneteenth, we commit, as one Nation, to live true to our highest ideals and to build always toward a freer, stronger country that values the dignity and boundless potential of all Americans,” he declared on June 19, 2020.

Democrats accused him of racism despite his calls for unity. They then took the Juneteenth craze and ran with it.

A year later, President Joe Biden signed into law near-unanimous legislation making Juneteenth the 11th federal holiday. Biden used the occasion not to unite all Americans, but to foster division.

Biden told the nation that Juneteenth in part represents “the ongoing work to have to bring true equity and racial justice into American society.”

“In short, this day doesn’t just celebrate the past; it calls for action today,” he added.

Biden isn’t speaking of performative gestures. It is a whole-of-government approach. Since practically Day One of Biden’s term, his administration has been intent on unleashing a “total transformation of government” that turns the administrative state into a vehicle for race-based discrimination and redistribution of wealth.

What that really means is an abandonment of equality.

“The entire program is set to lower standards, dilute meritocracy, and have the first large-scale government-supported laws that discriminate against people based on their race since before Eisenhower was President,” 1776 Project PAC founder Ryan Girdusky said of the Biden administration’s plan.

Democrats are quite honest and open about that. Folks like Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) are unafraid to say what Juneteenth is really all about now.

“It’s Juneteenth AND reparations. It’s Juneteenth AND end police violence + the War on Drugs. It’s Juneteenth AND end housing + education apartheid. It’s Juneteenth AND teach the truth about white supremacy in our country,” she tweeted. “Black liberation must be prioritized.”

It’s Juneteenth AND reparations.

It’s Juneteenth AND end police violence + the War on Drugs.

It’s Juneteenth AND end housing + education apartheid.

It’s Juneteenth AND teach the truth about white supremacy in our country.

Black liberation must be prioritized.

— Cori Bush (@CoriBush) June 19, 2023

On Monday, agency heads in the Biden administration rushed to declare how their department is accomplishing Justice40 — the Biden plan that “directs 40% of the overall benefits of certain Federal investments to flow to underserved and overburdened communities.” That should be taken to mean mostly non-white areas.

The Energy Department said that “Juneteenth serves as a celebration and a reminder of why advancing climate justice is an integral part of our work at the Department of Energy today and every day.”

“Climate justice” looks a lot like “racial justice,” as previously observed.

And Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona stated Monday, “We cannot celebrate #Juneteenth without committing to fight for equity & opportunity for all.”

We cannot celebrate #Juneteenth without committing to fight for equity & opportunity for all.

Progress for America must ensure that Black and Brown children receive an excellent education and the resources they need to thrive. pic.twitter.com/F1o9ckNld8

— Secretary Miguel Cardona (@SecCardona) June 19, 2023

“Equity” in education is often code for lowering standards and diluting the overall quality of education.

Excellence and potential success of federally-funded projects alone no longer determine where your tax dollars go — what really matters is whether it can put more money in the hands of minorities. Everything the Biden administration does domestically is animated by that mission — especially marking Juneteenth.

In 2021, Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-MT) warned that Juneteenth would be used by the Left to push for these sorts of plans. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) derided him as “kooky.”

Kooky https://t.co/O3gPnJCyiR

— Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) June 16, 2021

Cornyn is a potential replacement for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), it should be noted. The only thing that is “kooky” is that the Republicans have not learned the way the Left operates yet. Rather than offering any pushback, Republican leaders like Ronna McDaniel still think that this day is really about American Exceptionalism.

“Juneteenth reminds us all how valuable freedom is and what we can achieve when we appeal to our nation’s highest ideals and come together as Americans,” she said in a statement.

“Juneteenth reminds us all how valuable freedom is and what we can achieve when we appeal to our nation’s highest ideals and come together as Americans.”

–@GOPChairwoman pic.twitter.com/OUZDRZtXao

— GOP (@GOP) June 19, 2023

So, while Republicans use Juneteenth to offer vague platitudes, Democrats are using it to browbeat their opponents into supporting their agenda and score wins for their voters.

Democrats never do something out of the kindness of their own hearts. The Left has no desire to honor our nation’s heritage simply to celebrate American greatness. Democrats only advance certain holidays, policies, or rhetoric if it gives them a chance at maintaining and expanding power. They know that the GOP is either unwilling or too scared to call them out for it.

The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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