MUSKEGON, Mich. — As we recognize the Juneteenth holiday, one local author says there are some misconceptions surrounding the nation’s newest federal holiday. Tracee Bruce is a Muskegon native and self-published book author.
She says we’re not often taught history from the Black American perspective and that she believes the importance of learning history is that as we learn about each other and different cultures, we’re better able to connect and empathize with one another.
Her book is called “Systems that Shape(d) Black America” and includes 40 mini history lessons on defining moments of the past that continue to shape our experiences today.
“When you look over the whole 400+ years that Black Americans have been in this country and you see just how long slavery lasted, which was 246 years. Then, you see how long Jim Crow lasted, which was 100+, it kind of needles the thread to show how we see so many disparities in the Black community because really out of the 400-year history it’s only been about 60+ years where Black people have not been in slavery or in Jim Crow,” said Bruce.
The local author told 13 ON YOUR SIDE that she’s also hoping her book will help to clear up many of the misconceptions surrounding Black history, including some about Juneteenth.
“That’s not the end of slavery. There were still roughly half a million people enslaved in what was known as the border states, which were states fighting in the Civil War on behalf of the North but also had an enslaved population," Bruce said. "They weren’t impacted by the Emancipation Proclamation, and so, they still had enslaved people at the end of the Civil War. So, all slavery didn’t come to an end until the 13th Amendment which was the same year of 1865 but later in December. So, we celebrate Juneteenth and it’s a great thing to celebrate, but I want people to realize that there were still enslaved people after June 19, 1865."
She will be speaking at the Holland Museum for the I Am Academy Juneteenth event at 5 p.m. Monday.
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