OPINION: Let’s celebrate Juneteenth

Over and over again, we hear community leaders say, “North Idaho is not racist.” 

When visiting NCAA basketball players make international news as the target of racial slurs, we all rushed to say we aren’t racist. 

When children from the Coeur d’Alene Tribe are the target of racial taunts and profanity, we all rush to say we aren’t racist. 

When the Aryan Freedom Network held their meetings here in March 2022, we all rushed to say we aren’t racist. 

Today, June 19, we have an opportunity to align our actions with our words. 

Community members of diverse political backgrounds are standing up and starting tough conversations around racism. We applaud their efforts. 

To celebrate Junteenth, you could begin your day at the Humans Rights Education Institute at 10 a.m. for its annual HREI Juneteenth Leadership Panel and Community Conversation. A chili tasting will begin at 11 a.m. followed by additional community panels and discussion. 

Space is limited and registration is required at: https://bit.ly/JuneteenthCDA. 

Then, North Idaho United (NIU) invites the community to come together for a Juneteenth Walk, today at 5:30 p.m. The walk will begin at 501 E. Wallace in Coeur d'Alene and conclude at the Human Rights Education Institute (HREI) located at 414 W. Fort Grounds Drive.

We encourage people of all political persuasions to join this peaceful moment in our community’s history. Let’s demonstrate we are the caring, accepting place we want to be.

The day's events promise to be a meaningful and peaceful opportunity to remember the end of enslavement in the United States, and honor the freedom, equality and dignity of all our neighbors in North Idaho. We must actively and publicly celebrate our diverse community.

June 19th, known as Juneteenth, holds profound significance in American history. It commemorates the day in 1865 when Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced the end of slavery, marking the emancipation of the last enslaved African Americans in the Confederacy. This momentous event came two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, highlighting the slow and uneven process of freedom’s spread. 

The significance of Juneteenth extends beyond African American history; it is an integral part of the American story. It highlights the gap between the nation’s ideals and its realities. The Declaration of Independence declared that "all men are created equal," yet it took nearly a century for this principle to begin to be applied to African Americans. Juneteenth forces us to confront this contradiction and encourages us to strive toward a more just and inclusive society. 

Juneteenth offers an opportunity to celebrate progress made, but also recognize the ongoing struggles around diversity and inclusion in our community. 

It is clear that some in our community continue to struggle with diversity and acceptance. From visiting NCAA tourists to Coeur d'Alene Tribe members who have lived here for generations, we must do our part to help all people feel safe in North Idaho. 

While peacefully joining a remembrance walk might seem like a small thing, it makes a big statement about what we believe as a community. 

Luckily, there is profound power in standing up for diversity. The simple act of walking quietly down a public street, arm in arm with others, sends a clear and forceful message. We work for a North Idaho that supports all people, of all backgrounds and ethnicities, to feel at home here. 

As we courageously stand for, and celebrate diversity, we build a More Perfect Union in North Idaho.

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Evan Koch is chairman of the Kootenai County Democrats.