As we honor Juneteenth, I am reflecting on our federal government’s current ongoing assault on basic principles of civil and human rights – and how it is part of our country’s long history of racism manifested as slavery, segregation, and economic and social inequality. I am also thinking of what we can learn from the generations who have struggled for freedom and justice for all.

Juneteenth marks an important event in ending slavery in the United States. President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, and that was freedom on paper. Over two years later the Union Army arrived in Texas and decreed that enslaved people in Texas were free. And that action still fell short of fully making freedom a reality in the lives of Black Americans.

It would take a Constitutional amendment to fully formally end slavery, and Reconstruction ultimately failed to deliver its promised economic and political opportunity. The civil rights movement and the fight against Jim Crow began to break down formal and informal segregation and establish a legal standard of equality, which remains a work in progress to this day. And the struggle continues, against police violence and wealth inequality and to break open the doors of opportunity for all.

Over this long arc of history bending sometimes ever so slowly toward justice, we see advancement and backlash, progress and retrenchment, and the righteous movement of so many people who faced state and mob violence and legal and economic oppression and still refused to give up.

Frederick Douglass said: “power concedes nothing without a demand.” So our job is clear. We must come together to demand justice, to fight racism and white nationalism, to stand up for the rule of law and against the authoritarian abuse of state power. And to join with the brave people all over this country doing that every day.

About the author: Pamela Coukos, Co-Founder and CEO

Working IDEAL CEO and co-founder Pamela Coukos, JD, PhD is a nationally recognized expert on equity analytics, applying research and experience to build more equitable and inclusive workplaces and business processes. She uses quantitative and qualitative methodologies to understand and identify barriers and to develop metrics to assess progress. She has assessed racial and gender equity at scores of large and small companies, local governments and education, labor and nonprofit organizations. Some of her recent notable projects include leading our interdisciplinary team in their work on the BlackRock racial equity audit, and developing and deploying our unique methodology for pay equity assessment and compensation program design for a number of leading national civil rights nonprofit organizations. She is a former civil rights attorney and served as a Senior Advisor at the U.S. Department of Labor. Read Pam’s full bio here.

Photo credit: DC Public Library People’s Archive Washington