This month, all over the country, many people will gather to commemorate Juneteenth—June 19, 1865, the day enslaved people in Galveston, Texas finally learned of their freedom, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation— with a complicated truth: we are free-ish.

Black Americans sit at the juxtaposition of praise for what has been accomplished and at the same time holding the ever present reminders of how far we have to go. Have we seen progress? Yes. But we must also recognize what freedom means today—what it costs, and who still pays the price.

Freedom is not merely the absence of chains. It’s the presence of opportunity, equity, and dignity. Slavery did not vanish—it evolved. Mass incarceration has become its modern iteration. Through systemic injustice, profit-driven prisons, and laws shaped by racial bias, many still live under a new kind of bondage.

Race, though a social construct, has spiritual consequences. It shapes how we experience God and community. For those constantly navigating racism, faith becomes a survival tool, a language of hope. Our spiritual journeys are as diverse as our skin tones, yet intimately tied to the realities we live. Trusting God looks different when the world has not yet fully trusted your humanity. Coming together to share our experiences in life has a way of humanizing these truths. Our hearts have the opportunity to break for the things God’s heart breaks for and then, we can act! 

Juneteenth reminds us to celebrate, but also to reckon. We honor those who personified Micah 6:8 – “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” – by continuing the work they began. And we remind ourselves: none of us is truly free until all of us are free. 

Join Coracle this Pentecost Sunday, June 8, 2025 at the Ministry Center in Arlington for a discussion on Race and Faith. Learn more and register here.