Understanding Juneteenth: A Deeper Dive with Skot Welch

Hey, friends, today on the podcast, we were talking about Juneteenth. And along with me, we have my dear friend Scott Welch, author of Unfractured, to talk about the historical implications of Juneteenth, as well as the ways in which we can engage our communities to better understand this holiday. And as I said, my guest, Scott Welch, the author of Unfractured. You thought I would forget the book, but of course I did not, Scott.

The book is excellent. We are not here to talk about the book, but maybe book adjacent. We are in the month of June. We are talking about Juneteenth. Of course, there are exciting events happening in Detroit. They're doing a lot of Juneteenth on Saturday and Sunday. Grand Rapids, they are actually doing it on Juneteenth. And all of those lists you can get on MLive.com. But let's welcome Scott in. Scott, how are you, my friend? I'm doing well, my brother. How are you doing, Eric? I am well.

And for some context, for those of you watching and or listening, I brought Scott here because I sort of wanted to talk not necessarily about a listicle of things you can do, but perhaps to talk a little bit deeper about why we should be doing this stuff. And so, you know, Scott, there might be people out there that don't necessarily know what Juneteenth signifies and thus why it is such an important holiday.

So let's start there and maybe kind of give the 10,000 foot view and we'll kind of dig a little bit deeper. Yeah, sure. So really, as I kind of, as I also continue to learn about stuff, so this is really, Juneteenth is a holiday commemorating the freedom of the slaves or enslaved Africans, I always like to say, in the United States. The name Juneteenth, of course, it's a combination of the words June and, of course, 19th. And the day is also called Emancipation Day or Freedom Day.

And it took place, it really, it's really around what happened in Texas, right, because they were the last ones to know. And so part of this is also the fact that they were made aware that they were free, although it was – they were, but the state of Texas said, well, we're going to keep this under wraps and enjoy this free labor, right? Yeah. And then, oh, yeah, by the way, that's right. We've totally forgot. You guys can leave too. And so –.

That's where Juneteenth comes into play. And so and now, I mean, as you can probably know, too, Eric, it's kind of come into the forefront, but it's only been the last maybe four or five years. Yeah, I mean, here in Michigan, Scott, there's a lot of events that are celebrating their fourth year, and that's like the extent of it, right? So we're talking like a post-COVID holiday, right? Right. Yes. And so the thing is, too, and I think what the thing about it is that I think

it's good for everybody to celebrate. And, you know, and of course, celebrate. Sometimes people say, oh, you know, I'm going to take the day off. I'm not going to take the day off wherever you are. And then I think what we owe it when we hear about particular events like this in our history is that we take time to know more about it and the why. And consider the context, the historical context of why such a holiday is before us.

I think that's the bigger thing where anybody can commit to leaning in and being a bit more of a student about it, right? As opposed to simply dismissing it. Because it's incredibly significant, Eric, as to the holiday itself. And that is where I think sometimes we are remiss if we just dismiss a holiday as, you know, it's something very kind of cursory as we look at it. But let's understand what the foundation of the holiday comes from.

I mean, this is where people were literally enslaved, weren't told that the Emancipation Proclamation, I mean, that it had just occurred, right? They were still working as though nothing had happened and something very significant had happened. And yet the folks in Texas, the enslaved Africans there in Texas were the last ones to know. And that is both. You look at it, you could say, glad that they found out.

Let's talk about really it's part of it also is the travesty of why it took so long for them to get the message because it was it wasn't just like the next day. You know, we're talking, you know, kind of an extended period of time where they eventually found out. And so if someone is coming into this, like you said, it's we've only been doing this as a country for, let's say, four years.

And in comparison to the holiday that comes two weeks after Fourth of July that we've been doing for what feels like a millennium, you know, obviously the tenor and the posture are different between these two. But if I'm trying to figure out maybe what I might do on that day, where should I start?

What should I be reading? What should I be looking at? Like, how do I start to understand this better and maybe figure out the proper way, you know, the honorific, if you will. You know, I think about it like this. You know, there's a difference between Memorial Day and Veterans Day. And many people still don't know the difference between those two. But there is a different posture for each of those days. For Juneteenth, there's a different posture when you compare it to the 4th of

July. And so what should that posture be and how do I get started kind of down that path? Well, I mean, first of all, I mean, I know that you've done a great job at articulating a list on MLive that they can look at different events, different happenings. I always encourage people to kind of, you know, you can kind of start on the fringes and just work your way in. And so go to some of the listings, go to the list that you have there.

And it might be a celebration that might take you to Detroit, maybe some on the 19th of June in Grand Rapids. It's all about getting into the center of these types of events to gain knowledge. I mean, there are really good documentaries on it that will also give you a deeper understanding of the why and the what. So I think education is always something that we owe to ourselves, right? And then I think also getting into the community from which the origin of the event that particular day occurs.

And so getting involved and going to some of the events that are sponsored by some of the organizations around Juneteenth. And then taking time, and this isn't anything, taking time, you study the holiday, you immerse yourself in the event at some point in time, I mean, some type of event, one, two, or three, whatever, as many. But then I also think, you know, when you're in those spaces, take the time to ask questions.

And I would really say to Eric that these are spaces where people are open to the conversation. Now, I know that, you know, we're going to get the lectures and the kind of academic understanding, and that's good. And it's critical. But I also think that at the end of the day, man, the one thing that these types of holidays can do is they can break down walls so that we are better neighbors to each other. Right. And again, there is no better history. There's no worse history.

There's just history and there's just different history. And so to me, the meta theme for things like this is to take time to listen, take time to study, take time to have the conversation and take time to Take time to listen and hear, and then decide what your part can be. It's like I can study and I celebrate lots of different holidays. I don't have to be a member of that community to celebrate that community or to celebrate that day. And so you always want to find out something you can do.

And sometimes the best thing we can do, Eric, is actually educating ourselves.

So let's let's look at it from a different lens. Scott, you do a ton of work in corporate culture, and they obviously struggle with understanding what to do with this. And so, you know, I don't need I'm not looking for you to name names. That's not at all what I'm asking. But in the corporate world, how are they handling this? And, you know, what are some ways in which you feel corporations are like, yeah, that's the right direction.

And maybe some ways in which we might want to, like, avoid handling it this particular way? Yeah, I think the organizations that are doing it well are the ones that actually take time to celebrate and educate their employee base. I think it's also an opportunity to take time to answer some of the difficult questions around the holiday itself and to be honest about our history as United States. I think those are, to me, those are the organizations that are really trying to lean in.

They're not trying to sugarcoat it. This happened. It was awful. And how do we actually move and make a move forward within this context? context. Really, Eric, the ones that aren't doing a good job are the ones that don't want to celebrate it. They don't want to talk about it. And they're hoping that just, oh my goodness, maybe we can just check the box and on the 20th of June, it's all done and we don't really want to talk about it.

Now, what's interesting about that, my brother, is that what they don't understand, meaning the latter, is that they are actually affecting their corporate culture in a negative way. So when they don't take time to allow their employees to get better, to learn more, and to lean in, they may look at it as a holiday and just one that they can just, you know, choose to kind of delete.

But see, this is where they don't think about it, Erica. That is, when you have a population of people in your organization that they feel like you essentially They are just kind of sliding them and checking the box for them. I guarantee you that the level of productivity and engagement is going to go down because you don't see them. Sure. See, that's where that's where opportunities when you can celebrate holidays and not every holiday.

I mean, I don't know if you've seen this, but my goodness, every day is a special just National Donut Day. And I don't know. National Left Hand Day. I'm just oh, my goodness, please. But now there are significant ones. Right. To me, that are pillars in the formation of our nation. Juneteenth is one of those.

And employers have to realize that to the degree that they don't acknowledge it, they don't give it voice and they try to sweep it up under the carpet is to the degree that those those employees. And by the way, and it's not just African-American employees that are affected, that feel it. Right. But people that have a concern and just are self-aware and they want to learn more.

When you see your organization dismissing holidays, even though you may not come from that organization or that that culture, that ethnic group, it does tell you something about the culture of your organization. Right. You know, and so it's not just about African-Americans. I mean, the stuff that you sometimes talk to me about or send me, you know, you're not African-American, but you're my brother. And so you feel it as well. And so this is where I think organizations should be so smart.

If they gave voice to these types of holidays, it just makes the climate of the organization better. And it creates what I call a culture of belonging as opposed to just being welcome.

Welcome my dear friend scott welch he is the author of unfractured which is a fabulous book about doing a christ-centered culture change at your organization or in the world in general i cannot recommend it enough you my friend are always one of my favorite humans and so thank you so much for the time and uh happy juneteenth thank you my brother talk to you soon.