HOLIDAY: PF council cannot erase history

The Post Falls City Council’s recent decision to remove Juneteenth as a recognized holiday is a disappointing attempt to “whitewash” our shared history. Mayor Westlund’s claim that “nobody had heard of (Juneteenth) until five years ago” is demonstrably false; it has been celebrated by many since 1865 and was recognized as a Texas state holiday in 1980, decades before becoming a federal holiday in 2021.

I applaud council member Malloy for rightly identifying Juneteenth as a “crowning achievement of Western civilization.” Conversely, I am deeply troubled by the efforts of another councilman to equate other historical instances of ethnic discrimination (and there are many) with the unique scourge of American chattel slavery. While many groups have faced hardship, none mirror the systemic, multi-generational human rights abuses endured by more than four million enslaved souls. Suggesting otherwise is not just an educational failure, but an insult to their descendants, to whom we owe the recognition of the struggles of their ancestors. Juneteenth is one small way to honor a promise to never forget or allow it to happen again.  

Our city should be celebrating the progress toward freedom, not erasing it from the calendar.

LEE WALLACE
Post Falls