Just like Christmas, Independence Day or Columbus Day, officials get a day off and many schools close. This year it happened yesterday, because the holiday falls on a weekend. The New York stock exchanges are still considering whether to close in the future; this year it was no longer possible to arrange this due to the short term.
Today, as in previous years, the very first official celebrations are held in many parts of the US for street fairs, or local festivals focusing on black culture or entrepreneurship. There is also room for education, such as re-enacting historical events, lectures or discussion about ongoing racism. “Celebrate, educate, agitate,” one historian summed it up.
The original sin of his country, Biden called slavery when the law was signed. “But great nations don’t ignore their painful moment. They embrace it. Greatest nations don’t run away from it, we face the mistakes we’ve made. And because of that, we can heal and become stronger.”
Keti Koti
Linda Nooitmeer, chairman of the NiNsee slavery knowledge center, calls the American decision great. “It is illustrative of a development that you see worldwide in recognition of the slavery past. We are not there yet, but it is certainly a real step.”
Never again would like to see the comparable Keti Koti (‘broken chains’) given the same status in our country on 1 July. “When we commemorate the victims together, we recognize that the slavery past has had an impact and continues to have an impact. Then you can also ask what we are going to do to nullify its effects.”
The four major cities yesterday urged the cabinet to make Keti Koti a national holiday. This happened after a motion by the PvdA councilor Nenita La Rose, which the Amsterdam city council adopted last year. She thinks such a day can serve as a crowbar to reflect on slavery’s past and its ongoing impact.
“I never learned anything about Suriname or the Antilles at school, while it is important to know what happened in the dark past of the Netherlands,” she explains. “Amsterdam played an important role in the past, so must now also lead the way.”
More than symbolic politics
Never again hopes that national attention will enable follow-up steps. “Concrete measures must follow: investments in Afro-Dutch communities here and in the former colonies, combating abuses in the housing and labor market. Something must be done there, otherwise such a day will remain symbolic.”
The question remains how large the support for a Dutch Juneteenth is. For example, apologizing for the slavery past is already sensitive: less than a third of the Dutch finds that necessary, although Amsterdam and Rotterdam are actively considering it. After the Black Lives Matter demonstrations last summer, Prime Minister Rutte repeated that he fears that an official expression of regret will lead to polarization.
Never again is more optimistic. “In recent years, the NiNsee has collaborated with white Dutch and people with African… roots memorial committees. The traditional Heri Heri meals we see this year again being distributed throughout the country on July 1th. It is an oil slick that will grow and be inspiring for the administrative Netherlands.”
La Rose also remains hopeful. “I am very positive, so I assume it will happen. I see movements, under the new government the discussion may get a boost again. I see it coming.”
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