Over the decades, homeschooling in America has grown more sophisticated with companies and curriculums filling the void to make this option superior to failing public schools while there are many co-ops which allow for socialization of likeminded families. Classical Conversations is one of those companies which aspires to offer classical Christian education through curriculum and communities. Given the implications of “classical education,” they were rightly called out for a tweet celebrating Juneteenth, which represents the woke zeitgeist that parents are homeschooling their children to avoid.
Amongst those whom the tweet drew the ire of included Jon Harris, Jeff Wright, The Dissenter, and plenty of others, and for good reason. Juneteenth is an Anti-white, anti-American holiday. Even their caption, “We remember the day that all Americans became truly free, and celebrate the steps we continue to take toward freedom for all” is both erroneous and ambiguous. Juneteenth has nothing to do with the historic end to slavery, as that occurred with the passage of the 13th Amendment. Slavery did not cease to exist but was replaced with early industrialization working conditions which effectively made workers slaves. In modern renditions, there are sweatshops which are slavery, but overseas so one does not have to think about it.
Moreover, the additional steps towards “freedom for all” which could be a subtle nod towards abortion is the same open-ended language that is used by liberal politicians both in regard to Juneteenth and MLK day. The ambiguity allows it to mean whatever one desires it to mean, which could be used to justify reparations, affirmative action, or other anti-white policy measures.
Many might counter to suggest that Juneteenth is a genuine holiday with local significance to blacks or those in Texas, but this is irrelevant. Most Americans did not know about it prior to the push to federalize it. And the creation of Juneteenth as a federal holiday is inextricably linked to the overdose of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter riots which resulted in the summer of 2020. Would Juneteenth be a federal holiday without George Floyd? The answer is a resounding no.
Others might argue that the end of slavery is worth celebrating, but the day neither represents the end of slavery nor represents a negative holiday, as Jon Harris so aptly argued. Officially, the holiday is “Juneteenth National Independence Day” which on paper creates a second Independence Day for America whereby July 4th becomes insufficient. Because it is a negative holiday, its very celebration is a denunciation of our forefathers for owning slaves, which was not a sin according to Scripture. It points to America as a racist country rather than honors America as its actual Independence Day does. In The Case for Christian Nationalism, Stephen Wolfe discusses the “totality of national action” ordering society towards a heavenly good. This would encompass holidays, monuments, and other civic reminders that point people toward God. Holidays like Juneteenth fail in this regard and ultimately supplant the actual Independence Day while subverting America’s heritage.
Holidays should be positive, and as I have written in the past, the overturn of Roe v Wade (June 24th) should be made into a holiday. Despite the ongoing tensions within the Pro-life camp and their resounding failures post-Dobbs, the day should be commemorated to point people toward the value of human life itself. Any attempts to coopt Juneteenth towards this end, which is the charitable reading of the aforementioned tweet, are doomed to fail while playing into a leftist paradigm.
Classical Conversations failed its customers by supporting an astroturfed holiday that was federalized in the wake of George Floyd. People go to them to avoid Critical Race Theory in their children’s education. Perhaps this was a foolish employee who so happens to operate their social media accounts and is not reflective of the overall company. Regardless, they should retract and apologize. With the notion that Conservatives are just Liberals driving the speed limit, John Doyle famously quipped that Republicans would become “George Floyd Conservatives.” Celebrating Juneteenth is George Floyd Conservatism, and it unfortunately did not trail liberalism in this fight (or lack thereof).
America has one Independence Day: July 4th.
