by Daniel Johnson

June 22, 2025

After Trump’s Iran Strike, Black Twitter Reminds Nation: Obama Had A Deal

Black Twitter criticized Trump's exit of Obama's Iran deal in 2017.

As the BBC reports, following an unprecedented military strike on a suspected nuclear weapons site, President Donald Trump urged Iran to pursue peace, warning in a public address that further conflict could escalate if an agreement was not reached. Black politicians and Black Twitter immediately went to social media.

“This cannot continue. There will be either peace or there will be tragedy for Iran, far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days,” Trump said, also noting that the United States would go after other targets in the country with “speed” and “precision.”

Trump continued, “Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated. Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace. If they do not, future attacks would be far greater and a lot easier.”

However, according to The New York Times, Trump’s assessment that Iran’s nuclear facilities were “completely and totally obliterated” appears to be yet another case of him jumping the gun and claiming a clear-cut victory in a case where there has not yet been a clear determination made.

Remember President Obama striking a deal with Iran to monitor their nuclear weapons program?

The one that Trump dismantled in his first term? pic.twitter.com/p2w3aezsAY
— chris evans (@notcapnamerica) June 22, 2025

When Trump said, Iran is ‘very close’ to building a nuclear bomb—it was a self-own.

We wouldn’t be here if Trump hadn’t backed out of the Obama Iran nuclear deal. pic.twitter.com/FsyzmX35kp
— Christopher Webb (@cwebbonline) June 21, 2025

President Trump’s unilateral decision to attack Iran without Congressional approval is unconstitutional and unwise. This move, a rash sequel to his withdrawal from the nuclear deal, puts our nation, our troops, and innocents at grave risk.

Trump promised to be a peacemaker and…
— James E. Clyburn (@RepJamesClyburn) June 22, 2025

Following the abrupt strikes, much of the immediate reaction on social media concentrated on the fact that during his first term, Trump exited the Iran nuclear deal struck by former President Barack Obama, despite being warned that doing so could lead to war.

On X, formerly known as Twitter, Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) called Trump’s unilateral decision both unwise and unconstitutional, cautioning of the risks posed by Trump’s actions.

“President Trump’s unilateral decision to attack Iran without Congressional approval is unconstitutional and unwise. This move, a rash sequel to his withdrawal from the nuclear deal, puts our nation, our troops, and innocents at grave risk,” Rep. Clyburn wrote.

He continued, “Preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon is a noble pursuit, but I join my colleagues in demanding immediate details from the Administration on this operation and in urging all sides to pull back from the brink of a full-scale war.”

Entrepreneur Chris Evans tweeted, “Remember President Obama striking a deal with Iran to monitor their nuclear weapons program? The one that Trump dismantled in his first term?”

X user Christopher Webb wrote, “When Trump said, Iran is ‘very close’ to building a nuclear bomb—it was a self-own. We wouldn’t be here if Trump hadn’t backed out of the Obama Iran nuclear deal.”

In a press release shared with BLACK ENTERPRISE, Rep. Oye Owolewa (D-DC) called on the American people to resist Trump’s hunger for war and for his colleagues on Capitol Hill to draft articles of impeachment against Trump.

“We must all stand up against Trump’s recent illegal and provocative bombings. Trump 2.0 lacks the support from American people to engage in war, the funds to carry out a war and the constitutional legality to attack Iran without congressional approval. For all reasons stated, Congress should ultimately draft articles of impeachment against President Trump,” Rep. Owolewa stated.

by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman

June 22, 2025

White Nationalist Awarded For Law School Paper Arguing Constitution Only Applies To White People

The student then made antisemitic posts on social media leading to his current suspension from the law school.

A white nationalist recently won an academic award for his law school paper arguing how the Constitution only applies to white people.

Preston Damsky, a proud white nationalist and antisemite, garnered acclaim from a University of Florida professor over his paper detailing his interpretation of the doctrine. Last fall, he wrote a paper on “originalism” for the law school seminar. An idea upheld by many conservatives, originalism interprets the Constitution as written during its original time period.

According to the New York Times, a Trump-appointed judge who taught the class awarded Damsky the highest honor for his paper. In his assignment, Damsky argued that “We the People,” as first written on the Constitution’s Preamble, actually refers to white people. With this mindset, he defended the idea of stripping voting rights for nonwhite citizens.

He further stated his support for shoot-to-kill orders toward “criminal infiltrators at the border.” He also referred to an America where white people did not make up the majority as a “terrible crime.” Damsky later uttered that white people “cannot be expected to meekly swallow this demographic assault on their sovereignty.”

Instead of concern over his viewpoints, his professor, Judge John L. Badalamenti, congratulated him on his provocative essay. Damsky received the book award, granted to the best student in the class, for his detailed work. Badalamenti did not comment on why he chose his recipient.

The award issuance sparked controversy across the school, with opposers stating Damsky’s recognition undermines his dangerous rhetoric. Despite the calls to revoke his award, the University of Florida’s Interim Dean Merritt McAlister affirmed the matter, citing his “free speech rights.” McAlister also noted “institutional neutrality,” a new term on the rise in anti-DEI policies, where schools remain impartial on political issues.

However, Damsky’s academic language continued on the internet. Months after the dean’s decision, Damsky created an X account to further showcase his views. His post that Jewish people must be ” abolished by any means necessary” led to his latest scandal.

The jarring remark led to the University of Florida suspending him and barring him from campus. The university even boosted police presence at the law school. However, others believe the initial celebration of his works empowered Damsky to become even louder with his racist beliefs.

The issue also comes at a time when free speech has its own interpretation in Florida public institutions. One professor called out the double standards of Damsky being able to write his essay while she had to change the name of her class over its assertion of race.

“I just find it fascinating that this student can write an article, a series of articles that are essentially manifestos, and that’s free speech,” expressed visiting associate law professor Carliss Chatman. “…but my class can’t be called ‘Race, Entrepreneurship and Inequality.”

Many students expressed their concerns about his online presence. Furthermore, Damsky’s arguments have been disavowed by most originalists. Most concede that post-Civil War sentiments strengthened the notion that the “liberty and justice for all” actually accounts for everyone.

Damsky remains adamant that he will challenge the university’s ruling against him.

by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman

June 22, 2025

Black Customer Walks Out North Carolina Auto Care Shop Over Viral Juneteenth Disrespect

The business tried to gain support for their side of the issue on social media, but instead faced backlash.

A North Carolina auto care shop faces backlash after a Black customer slammed them for disrespecting Juneteenth.

Patrons and employees at Synergy Auto Care in Wilson, North Carolina, engaged in a conversation surrounding Juneteenth that raised the eyebrows of a Black customer. In a video posted by the business, it documented how the discussion broke down, leading to the women’s interference and refusal of service.

It began with a white customer asking about why the banks closed on the federal holiday, established into law in 2021.

“Juneteenth, a new holiday they added a few years ago,” answered an employee.

The employee’s response triggered a joking reaction from the customer, who sarcastically said, “Okie dokie.”

Another employee chimed in, saying, “I know, right?” suggesting that Juneteenth was not that important of a holiday.

The discussion prompted a Black customer in the room to speak out. Visibly upset, the customer asked the employee to return her truck, opting to take her business elsewhere.

“Give me my f–king truck,” she yelled. “Pull my truck around, please. Pull my truck around and give me my truck… I don’t want nothing done from here! Please go get my truck, thank you.”

Following the woman’s leaving, the first employee then tried explaining the reason for Juneteenth. He shared it was for “reparations or something,” not knowing the true history behind the holiday that celebrates the end of slavery in the United States.

However, after the woman called them out, the auto care shop responded in an unexpected way. Instead of taking accountability for the offense, they chastised the customer for the “WOW moment.”

“She told me she was going live with this and that we were racist,” explained the business owner. “She told me that we all laughed at her and were chuckling and mocking the holiday and that I didn’t know how that made her feel because she was Black.”

The owner pushed back on her accusations, stating they would release their own footage to not be “unfairly judged off one side of an event.”

“I generally don’t entertain these kinds of things, but when you bend over backwards for all your customers, it stings to be accused of hateful things,” the statement added.

However, the owner’s insistence on releasing the video had an opposite effect. Social media users criticized the owners for not recognizing why the customer took offense.

“Most were negative towards the store employees,” shared a TikToker, according to Atlanta Black Star. “She was the only Black customer in there, and they wanted to antagonize her. I’m glad sista stood on business! These cowards have become emboldened!”

Synergy Auto Care took the video down shortly after, but the effects remain as the store continues to garner backlash.

Mayor Karen Bass, LA, ICE agents, Latino, DHS

by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman

June 22, 2025

You Know His Name: Bass Rips VP Vance For Calling Sen. Alex Padilla ‘Jose’ In Disrespectful L.A. Remarks

Bass also condemned Vance for 'spewing lies' about the ICE raids protests.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is not holding back in her response to J.D. Vance’s brief, yet “disrespect[ful]” visit to the city.

Vance visited the state amid tensions with the federal government over its ICE raids. While only in Los Angeles for a few hours, the Vice President hosted a press conference June 20, where he made several derogatory claims against California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Bass. During the event, he also mockingly referred to U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla as “Jose Padilla.”

Shortly after his disparaging remarks, Mayor Bass hosted her press conference, slamming his accusations and offensive words toward Padilla. According to NBC4, she denounced Vance for “spewing lies” that could sow even more discord across Los Angeles.

“The vice president of the United States spent three or four hours in L.A. before holding a press conference and spewing lies and utter nonsense in an attempt to provoke division and conflict in our city,” said Bass. “This is consistent with the provocation from Washington that began two weeks ago, when our city was calm and many and millions of Angelenos were going about working and contributing to our city.”

She then called out the elected official for calling Sen. Padilla “Jose,” seemingly using that name due to his support of immigrants. Federal agents removed Padilla from a news conference with the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem a week prior.

“How dare you disrespect our senator? You don’t know his name, but yet you served with him before you were vice president, and you continue to serve with him today, because the last time I checked, the Vice President of the United States is the president of the U.S. Senate,” Bass continued. “You served with him today, and how dare you disrespect him and call him Jose, but I guess he just looked like anybody to you. Well, he’s not just anybody to us. He is our senator.”

Bass then defended the overall peacefulness of the protest. She emphasized how state law enforcement was able to contain the demonstrations to a small sector of the city, noting California’s ability to manage the protesters without the use of the National Guard.

“Even when there was vandalism at its height, you were talking about a couple of hundred people who were not necessarily associated with any of the peaceful protests,” explained Bass. “Los Angeles is a city that is 500 square miles and any disruption took place took place in about two square miles in our city. The most – over 100 people were arrested. We are a city of 3.8 million people.”

The protests against the ICE raids across Los Angeles went on for days, leading to Trump’s deployment of 4,000 National Guard troops to the area. Although most of the protests have cooled down, the legality of Trump’s order continues its battle in the courts, with the latest judgment siding with the President.

by Sharelle B. McNair

June 22, 2025

Ex-ACE Hardware Employee Files Lawsuit Over Alleged Racist Display Hung From Ceiling On Juneteenth

The distraught employee says he was promised an investigation but was fired two weeks later after filing a complaint with the store’s human resources department.

A former employee of an ACE Hardware store in Arlington, Texas, has filed a lawsuit claiming the store manager allowed a racist depiction of a person hanging from a ceiling during a 2023 Juneteenth celebration, CBS News reports.

Devondrick Hartsfield is seeking a minimum of $1 million in damages for mental anguish and earnings loss.

Hartsfield, who claims he was the only Black employee then working in the store, said one of his white supervisors asked him to walk to the back of the store after he returned from making a delivery. When he arrived, Hartsfield saw a backpack hanging from what his lawyer claims was a noose.

The day of the incident was Hartfield’s last day at work. He said he wouldn’t return until someone was held accountable.

“I come in here and work hard and do my thing, respectfully, and this,” he said.

Hartsfield said he was promised there’d be an investigation. Instead, he was fired two weeks later after filing a complaint with the store’s human resources department. Hartsfield said the racist ordeal left him feeling “unsafe.”

“I didn’t want to go back to work. Emotionally distressed. It just, it hurt me mentally,” he said.

Added his lawyer, Jason Smith, “The noose is a symbol of lynching of Blacks in this country. There’s nothing funny about it, and it was placed in Mr. Hartsfield’s workplace where he was the only Black.”

Hartsfield’s unidentified manager claimed it was a prank.

“Before we walked to the door, he told me to look up, and I looked up, and when I looked back at him, he was like, ‘It’s a joke, Juan left his backpack,'” Hartsfield remembered, according to The Independent. “And when I looked back up, I saw the noose with the rope, and I was like, ‘What the hell?’”

The store apologized to customers, displaying a statement at the time of the incident.

“Van Marcke’s Ace Hardware would like to assure you and the entire community that any allegations of racism or any discrimination are being thoroughly investigated and addressed with the utmost urgency,” the statement read. “We take such incidents seriously and are committed to creating a safe and inclusive environment for both our employees and customers.”

Hartsfield isn’t seeking an apology or explanation for the display.

“I think it was a message,” he said. “I don’t think it was a misunderstanding. It was a message. It happened on Juneteenth, and it was a black monster backpack at that. So I feel like it was a message.”

Black-owned businesses, app, Birmingham, Better Auth

by Mary Spiller

June 22, 2025

Birmingham Entrepreneur Launches App To Boost Local Black-Owned Businesses

Jamaine Stanton is helping shine a spotlight on Birmingham's Black-owned businesses through a new mobile app—Black Business Traffic.

With a few taps on a smartphone, users in Birmingham can now discover and support hundreds of Black-owned businesses, thanks to the Black Business Traffic app. Created by Birmingham native Jamaine Stanton, the app serves as a digital roadmap highlighting over 350 local establishments, including restaurants, barbershops, churches, and more.

“I wanted to find our top-rated Black-owned businesses and put them in one location,” Stanton said. “Then a person can go there and use that as a tool to support businesses.”

The app is review-based and visually laid out like a city map, making it easy for users to navigate to nearby businesses.

Stanton emphasizes that the app focuses on physical brick-and-mortar storefronts and was designed to cater to grassroots entrepreneurs.

“Black Business Traffic was designed for the brick-and-mortar storefront business,” he said.

“The person who was willing to cash out their 401(k) and invest in their dream.”

One of those dreamers is Denise Ali, owner of Alibomb House of Hemp in East Lake, which is currently ranked as the top CBD store on the app.

Ali told WBRC that she credits Stanton’s platform with helping grow her customer base.

“A lot of people have called, especially when it first came out, and then around [Magic City] Classic, I got a lot of traffic from the app,” Ali said.

“It has been such a great opportunity for once just to be able to support another entrepreneur that’s taking risks to start something he truly believes in. Not only that, but the exposure that I’ve gotten over the years has been great.”

Stanton personally vets each business before listing it, evaluating factors such as pricing, customer service, and online visibility.

The app also allows users to leave reviews and includes direct links to business websites.

Looking ahead, Stanton hopes to expand the app to Montgomery and Huntsville by the end of the year, with a long-term goal of going nationwide.

“Black businesses are fluid and dynamic,” Stanton said. “Our businesses aren’t just on 4th Avenue anymore. They are all over the city. They are online. They are in the greater Birmingham area and everywhere.”

lawsuit, Major League Soccer, Exec, Racial Retaliation

by Daniel Johnson

June 22, 2025

Ex-In-N-Out Employee Sues Chain, Alleging Discrimination Over Natural Hair

Elijah Obeng alleges that In-N-Out discriminated against him due to his hair, in violation of California's CROWN Act.

Elijah Obeng, a former In-N-Out employee, is suing the California burger chain, alleging that it discriminated against him and terminated him because of his natural hair.

According to his lawsuit, Obeng is accusing the restaurant chain of inflicting damages such as emotional distress, reputational harm, and loss of employment, for which he is seeking $3 million in damages and $200,000 in back pay or otherwise lost earnings.

According to USA Today, Obeng’s lawsuit details that he started working for the company in 2020, after his high school graduation, and worked for the company until 2024, when he was fired.

Originally, Obeng had natural hair when he first went to work for the company, and, as his hair got longer, he was told by management either to cut it or manage it in such a way as to fit underneath his uniform hat, which was required to work in the restaurant. Obeng complied, wearing his hair in braids, but management then moved the goalposts, telling him that he now had to trim his sideburns, which he believed was “humiliating and discriminatory.”

After he refused to trim or cut his sideburns, Obeng’s lawsuit alleges that he was subjected to treatment different from other employees for minor infractions, such as missing work meetings, which, he alleges, other employees did not face.

Although the In-N-Out grooming and uniform policy isn’t available to the public online, according to Indeed forums, male workers must arrive clean-shaven, with no facial hair.

On May 24, 2024, Obeng clocked in for his final shift, when after he arrived, he was told to go home, shave his sideburns, and then he could return; but instead of this, he texted his supervisor that he would return for his next shift, but there would be no next shift because he was fired a few days later.

In-N-Out portrayed his firing as one carried out due to prior write-ups, per court documents, but Obeng contends that it was due to his “ancestry, color, and race, including his natural hairstyle and hair texture.”

Obeng also contends that In-N-Out has broken California’s version of the CROWN Act, which was one of the first states to pass its own law regarding protecting Black students and workers from discrimination due to their hairstyles.

In 2022, after the CROWN Act was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, Damon Hewitt, the president and executive director of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, urged the Senate to pass its own version of the bill to protect Black Americans from discrimination based on their hairstyles at schools and workplaces.

In February 2025, during Black History Month, Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Susan Collins (R-ME) reintroduced the act for the Senate to vote on.

In the reintroduction of the CROWN Act, Booker called on the federal government to protect Black people from prejudice and bias.

“Everyone, regardless of their race or background, should be able to show up every day to school or work or life and embrace their racial identity without fear of prejudice or bias. Numerous states have already enacted legislation to prohibit hair discrimination, and the CROWN Act is a bipartisan federal effort to ensure that Black people can wear their hair freely in a natural or protective hairstyle,” Booker stated.

In her comments, Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, who led the House’s effort to pass its version of the bill, noted that versions of the act had already passed in more than half of the state legislative houses in the United States.

“We cannot control the way our hair grows out of our head any more than we can control the color of our skin. Discrimination against hair texture is racial discrimination, plain and simple. Nobody deserves to be denied the opportunity to thrive in the workplace, excel in school, or contribute their talents to the world simply because of their hair. I’m proud to reintroduce this legislation with my House colleagues and Senator Booker. I strongly encourage House leadership to take up this bill, which has passed in 27 states, led by both Republican and Democratic governments,” Rep. Watson Coleman said.

Grand Rapids, Settlement, Girl, 11, Handcuffed, police

by Mary Spiller

June 21, 2025

Georgia Jury Awards $2.25M To Parents Of Infant Decapitated During Delivery

Jessica Ross and Treveon Taylor are the parents of a baby who was decapitated during delivery and whose autopsy was later posted on social media without their consent.

A Fulton County jury has awarded $2.25 million to the grieving parents of a baby decapitated during a traumatic delivery and whose autopsy was later shared online without their permission. Treveon Taylor and Jessica Ross, the parents of baby Isaiah, will receive $2 million in compensatory damages and $250,000 in punitive damages following their lawsuit against Dr. Jackson Gates and Medical Diagnostic Choices in Atlanta.

As reported by NBC News, Gates, a pathologist, had been hired by Ross and Taylor on July 12, 2023, to perform a private autopsy two days after the baby’s death.

Despite never receiving permission to share images of the procedure publicly, Gates posted graphic videos of the autopsy to his Instagram account, according to court documents.

The lawsuit accused Gates of invasion of privacy, fraud, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

“After the decapitation of their baby, Gates poured salt into the couple’s already deep wounds when he betrayed them,” the family’s attorneys said in a statement.

“While we are pleased that a jury punished Dr. Jackson Gates for his reprehensible behavior, nothing can ease the pain that the parents, Jessica Ross and Treveon Isaiah Taylor, Sr., have experienced in losing their baby boy in such a horrific way.”

The videos posted online allegedly showed “in graphic and grisly detail” images of the baby’s severed head and body.

According to the lawsuit, Gates has a history of sharing autopsy content on social media, and he defended his actions in a March 2024 interview, stating, “I have not violated HIPAA. It is not required by a physician to get consent to report a crime or some sort of health issue to the public.”

Taylor and Ross issued a cease-and-desist letter in August 2023 and filed their lawsuit a month later.

Ross and Taylor have also filed a separate lawsuit against Southern Regional Medical Center and obstetrician Dr. Tracey St. Julian.

The suit claims excessive force was used during delivery, leading to Isaiah’s decapitation.

As previously reported, Ross had requested a C-section while the baby was still viable, but was allegedly told to continue pushing for three hours before an emergency C-section was performed too late.

The Clayton County Medical Examiner ruled the baby’s death a homicide in February 2024, citing cervical spinal fractures caused by “actions of another person.”

Southern Regional and St. Julian have denied wrongdoing and did not respond to recent requests for comment.

by Daniel Johnson

June 21, 2025

Al Sharpton Says Wealthy Black Men Have Been Targets, Cautions Against Conspiracy Theories

Is Sharpton right?

As prominent Black men like Sean “Diddy” Combs and Tyler Perry face federal charges and sexual assault and abuse allegations, in a conversation prompted by TMZ reporters, Al Sharpton said that wealthy and prominent Black men have generally been targets in America, but cautioned against embracing conspiracy theories.

“I think we’ve got to be very balanced and say that we’re not going to believe every accusation given against somebody, but at the same time, we need to hold them accountable if there is evidence of them doing wrong, they should not use their wealth and celebrity in our community to justify some misbehaving,” Sharpton told the outlet.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Rev. Al Sharpton (@real_sharpton)

In a 2024 report, which Pew Research updated to remove references to conspiracy theories, a majority of Black respondents indicated a belief that multiple systems, sometimes interlocking systems, were designed to hold Black people back.

Notably, these systems include the prison system, the court and judicial system, policing, the political system, the American economic system, the news media, and the healthcare system.

Per the report, its previous research indicated that although Black Americans felt somewhat optimistic about their financial futures, most believed that many American institutions have failed to treat Black people fairly, lending credence to Sharpton’s main argument that America has generally not treated Black people with respect.

According to one respondent in Pew’s 2023 focus group, a Black man in his late 30s wrote, “This is a capitalistic society. And I feel as though Black men just have to be the ones at the bottom in order for this system to succeed. … I think that a few hands may be part of this. I don’t want to speculate, but it just still seems to be a system set in place where Black people, especially Black men, have not been successful for a while. We can even go back to Black Wall Street where we were starting to have a little bit of success, and then that was taken down by the powers to be. So whatever system it is, it’s a pretty good system that doesn’t reveal itself so easily.”

His answer squares with Sharpton’s analysis, and at least some of the response online to rich and famous Black men’s high-profile legal problems indicates a belief that they are being unfairly targeted.

These perceptions of systemic injustice have also fueled public skepticism around the legal troubles of high-profile Black celebrities like Jonathan Majors and Sean “Diddy” Combs, raising questions about whether their treatment reflects deeper patterns of racial targeting rather than accountability.

by Daniel Johnson

June 21, 2025

Biden Reflects On Making Juneteenth A Federal Holiday During Visit To Historic Galveston Church

Biden's act of making Juneteenth a federal holiday marked the first federal holiday established since Ronald Reagan made Martin Luther King Jr Day a holiday in 1983.

During a Juneteenth commemoration at Galveston’s historic Reedy Chapel AME Church, former President Joe Biden took the opportunity to call for Americans to unite during uncertain times, and Biden also noted that he was still very proud of his decision to sign bipartisan legislation to make Juneteenth an official federal holiday.

“I don’t come here today to only commemorate the past. I come here because we know the good Lord isn’t done with us yet. We have work to do. We need to keep pushing America forward. We’re the United States of America,” Biden said in his remarks. “There’s nothing, nothing beyond our capacity when we act together.”

According to CNN, Biden’s act of making Juneteenth a federal holiday marks the first federal holiday established since Ronald Reagan made Martin Luther King Jr Day a holiday in 1983.

Biden continued, “Juneteenth is a day of liberation, a day of remembrance, and a day of celebration. Juneteenth represents both the long and hard night of slavery and subjugation and the promise of joyful morning to come. Our federal holidays say…who we are as Americans. What we celebrate says what we value.”

Juneteenth, deeply rooted in Galveston, Texas, history, marks the day in 1865 when Union Gen. Gordon Granger arrived with U.S. troops to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation and bring freedom to the last enslaved people in the Confederacy.

Indeed, as David Wright Faladé, a University of Illinois professor and the author of the Civil War novel “Black Cloud Rising,” noted in an op-ed for The Chicago Tribune, the narrative that Black people in Texas did not know they were freed is a mishandling of history.

“To characterize Juneteenth as the moment African Americans only first ‘learned’ of their emancipation risks perpetuating the false idea, broadly believed during slavery and recently resuscitated through efforts to ban books and scrub curricula, that they were merely victims, benighted and lesser, incapable of significant action for themselves,” Wright Faladé wrote.