June 16: On This Day
One hundred and sixty-four years ago, on this day, Thursday, June 16, Abraham Lincoln said that slavery had to be *resolved*, declaring that, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”
Seven years ago, on this day, D-grade loser Donald Trump launched his campaign to become president of the United States with a calculating, xenophobic, racist, narcissistic and hate-filled speech at Trump Tower in Manhattan.
Six years ago, on this day, President Barack Obama traveled to Florida, where four days earlier, a 29-year-old man had murdered 49 humans and wounded 53 more using legally purchased semi-automatic weapons at a gay nightclub in Orlando.
Five years ago, on this day, a Minnesota police officer was acquitted of manslaughter in the fatal shooting of Philando Castile, an innocent Black man driving with his girlfriend and her four-year-old daughter.
What will we say about June 16 in 2023? Will it be more political division, racism, bigotry, and hate? More retrogressive history conserving the selective fReEdOmS that have held us back for so long?
Or will it be akin to this day 52 years ago, when Kenneth A. Gibson of New Jersey became the first Black elected mayor of a major Northeast city?
Will it be progress?
Turning a blind eye to ruthless individualism and fear-mongering does not advance humanity. Likewise, upholding archaic, inept, and ignorant notions of sovereignty will never be the impetus to our collective enlightenment.
What do you want June 16 to become? What do you want our collective legacy to be?
