In recent times there has been an emphasis put on celebrating culturally appropriate holidays for the BIPOC population, these communities have realized how important it is to not only appreciate but celebrate the holidays that represent them and their cultural background.
For Black people this means celebrating Juneteenth and not the 4th of July, For Native Americans, this means celebrating Indigenous Peoples Day and not Columbus Day, For Mexican people this means celebrating Mexican Independence Day on September 16th and not Cinco de Mayo.
For a very long time, people have just celebrated what was on the calendar and taken whatever it was at face value, but people never took the time to ask why they are celebrating it and for what reason.
The Fourth of July 1776 was a day when the United States gained its Independence from Great Britain, yet there was a high level of hypocrisy due to the fact that black people were still enslaved.
The last slaves weren’t free until June 19th, 1865 in Texas, where there were more than 250,000 enslaved black people in the State.
This is the same type of hypocrisy with Columbus Day, the same man who Raped, slaughtered, and took land that wasn’t his got a holiday named after him. Native Americans are about 2 percent of the U.S. population.
Cinco de Mayo is a little bit different when it comes to these holidays, Cinco de Mayo is often mistaken as Mexico’s Independence Day from Spain when in reality it is a day that honors Mexico’s unlikely victory over France in 1862 in the Battle of the Puebla.
Mexico’s true Independence Day is September 16th when they gained independence from Spain.
These holidays all represent the true background and some of the most prominent minority groups in America.
There is a level of importance surrounding all of these holidays for these ethnic groups and their respective cultural histories.
Juneteenth is a holiday that has been celebrated in southern states for many years but in recent years it has become a national holiday that is celebrated all across the country, as the Black community continues to fight for equality and freedom, having Juneteenth become a Federal holiday back in 2021 it was a huge step towards that equality.
These holidays may just seem like a drop in the pan since they are just a day on the calendar, but they are much more than just that they are a symbol of progress for all of these communities and others alike.
For the native population they usually get the shortest end of the stick and are probably one of if not the most forgotten about population within American society, they were a population that had their own culture and way of living.
For the natives it has to be extremely hard to celebrate any holiday that is on the calendar let alone National Indigenous Day, for them only having that one day on the calendar to celebrate their culture has to feel like a slap in the face.
Author Credit: Markel Collins
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