Juneteenth

 

By Steve Halpern

There was a time when people 

were treated worse than animals.

They were called slaves and worked 

from can’t see in the morning, till can’t see at night.

The requirement was to pick 

100 pounds of cotton under blazing hot sun.

The punishment for failure was a beating.

There were people thought this system would last forever.

But the slave owners weren’t satisfied.

They wanted the entire nation to 

consist of slave plantations.

Many opposed that idea.  

So, a Civil War erupted. 

350,000 Union soldiers died. 

The Constitution was Amended,

and there was a celebration called Juneteenth.

Politicians take an oath to defend the Constitution.

But all branches of government decided 

to flagrantly violate the Constitution.

They effectively gave power to the Ku Klux Klan.

The Constitution argued that slavery was illegal.

So, the Klan created chain gangs.

The Constitution argued for “equal protection under the law.”

The Klan instituted Jim Crow segregation.

The Constitution argues for the right to vote.

The Klan adopted laws making it 

impossible for most Black people to vote.

Then, because of the Civil Rights movement

 Jim Crow segregation was no more.

Yet today the Supreme Court 

has decided to violate the Constitution again.

They decided to compromise the right of Black people to vote.  

Today, we continue to celebrate Juneteenth.

For me, this is a celebration of the possibility 

that profound change can actually happen.

And the struggle continues.