by Brother Francis
Portland, Maine
In 2020, Juneteenth erupted into rallies and protests across the US, led by the Black Lives Matter movement in outrage against the murder of George Floyd and chronic, systemic police brutality and racism. Protesters in the South tore down Confederate Civil War statues. On the West Coast, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), with many Black members, shut down the ports for eight hours. Juneteenth 2025 needs to reignite that protest energy and add to the fight against the racist, anti-worker Trump regime.
Freedom was never given: it was taken through struggle. Black Americans know this dearly, and it’s a lesson socialists should be familiar with as well. We honor the working people who came before us by resisting the same system of capitalist oppression that has merely reinvented itself. This year’s Juneteenth celebration will mark the 160th anniversary of the Union’s triumph over the Confederacy and slavery. As we march further into the second term of the far-right Trump presidency, this Juneteenth should be a day for protests and action against the right-wing administration. We reject hollow symbolism and demand material justice: the dismantling of police terror, the end of voter suppression, and the redistribution of stolen wealth.
Juneteenth originated in Texas. The Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 decreed slavery to be illegal and all enslaved people to be free. By 1865, the Confederacy collapsed under Union advances. However, in some outlying parts of the Confederacy, the plantation owners simply decided to keep emancipation a secret, and to continue operations as though nothing had changed. It was not until June 19, 1865 that Union troops rode into Galveston, TX and informed enslaved people that they were now free. The news spread like wildfire, and the holiday was made official in 1866. Juneteenth was informally celebrated as “Emancipation Day” until the Civil Rights movement brought the holiday to wider prominence across the country. During the Biden administration, pressure from the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement led Biden to declare Juneteenth a federal holiday.
President Trump and the GOP cast themselves as defenders of white supremacy abroad and at home. They deride Black activists and public figures, and perpetuate the myths of “white genocide” in South Africa and “great replacement theory” in the US. The Trump regime leads the charge to whitewash US history, among countless other race-baiting gestures to the far-right. The capitalist class and white nationalists see a common enemy in the federal government when even mild reforms and regulations threaten their profits and privileges. This right-wing contempt toward government programs which assist working people is rooted in the exploitation of early capitalism in the US and the racist terror used in the dismantling of Reconstruction and the foundation of Jim Crow in the South.
Trump and the Right
The Trump regime viciously attacks government workers, services, and benefits, including mass firings of federal workers and public sector union-busting. The economic impact of this mass downsizing has a particular impact on African-Americans in civil service, as government employment has been a more reliable source of jobs when racist hiring practices by the private sector excluded many Black workers. More than 18% of the federal workforce is Black versus about 12% of the civilian workforce overall.
Trump has begun targeting many women and minorities for harassment and removal from some government positions under the guise of an “anti-DEI” crusade. A Presidential executive order from April 28 orders police departments to stop “pursuing harmful, illegal race- and sex-based ‘equity’ policies”. That executive order also advances Trump’s long-time goal of a more militarized police, as the order would federalize local law enforcement and further “unleash” police with even less accountability.
When combined with the impact of tariffs, the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, and the Trump administration’s efforts to defund Medicaid and Medicare, many in the Black working class will be disproportionately hit by these policies. Median Black household wealth is roughly 10 times lower than that of White households. The poverty rate among Black Americans is about 17.9%, compared to 9.7% for White Americans (U.S. Census Bureau). Health disparities persist, with Black Americans facing higher rates of chronic diseases (e.g., diabetes, hypertension) and worse health outcomes. Trump regime policies are creating more barriers to healthcare. The root cause of these policies of racialized poverty is capitalism.
Working-Class Unity
The working class should stand in solidarity with Black Americans on this Emancipation Day. Juneteenth can add protest to celebration using the holiday as an opportunity for organizing anti-Trump rallies.
Many Democrats insist on theatrical protests and bowing to “anti-woke” drivel. Socialists must not expect the Democrats to rescue Black people or the working class from the jaws of capitalism. We did not get a federal Juneteenth holiday from Biden’s “generosity”, but from the nationwide upheaval of the BLM movement. The federal holiday was a minor concession when compared to broader demands for economic justice, police abolition, and better healthcare, housing, and education.
The labor movement can help center demands for a jobs guarantee, cost-of-living relief, voting rights, and fighting against workplace discrimination. We must keep in mind that the ruling class never hesitates to exploit racism to divide workers and enforce economic disparity. Unions should leverage their power to strike, occupy, and disrupt corporations and government policies that uphold systemic racism. A new political party for working people, a workers’ party, supported by unions and independent of the two corporate political parties, could help create a new Black power movement, energizing wide sections of the working class to fight for the centuries-old dream of equality in America.
We must engage more than just Black Americans; Juneteenth commemorates Black struggle first and foremost, but the socioeconomic goals of the Black community cannot be met under capitalism. In 1968, the Poor People’s Campaign raised demands for economic and human rights for all poor Americans. As part of that campaign, Juneteenth was designated Solidarity Day, and 100,000 people — including many union members and white supporters — marched in Washington.
As we celebrate Juneteenth under a more openly right-wing government, we must keep alive the energy of our ancestors who actively resisted the tyranny of slavery. This is not a moment for passive reflection, but for radical action and working-class unity against Trump and the right, corporate politics, and the capitalist class.
Independent Socialist Group 