Juneteenth gains in popularity, and so does making money from it
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Michael Simpliss sells his wares at the Leimert Park Juneteenth Festival in Los Angeles in 2022. Photo: Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Juneteenth is now a federal holiday, and like all other holidays, it can be a chance to make a few dollars — a trend that worries advocates.
The big picture: From Juneteenth sales of makeup products to department store specials, they worry that the holiday's message could be lost, like Memorial Day's regular mattress discounts.
State of play: The rapid commercialization of Juneteenth comes as some states pass laws limiting the discussion about enslavement in public schools and as some GOP lawmakers press for the return of Confederate monuments.
Catch up quick: This is the third year that Juneteenth has been a national holiday since President Biden signed legislation in 2021.
- It commemorates June 19, 1865 — the day Union Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas, with word that the Emancipation Proclamation had been signed by President Lincoln more than two years before.
Zoom in: Long before it became a trendy day elsewhere, Juneteenth was celebrated in Houston and Galveston to commemorate General Order No. 3.
- It was issued a month after the formal end of the Civil War. Galveston was one of the last places in the U.S. where enslaved people learned of their emancipation.
Context: The popularity of Juneteenth and the racial reckoning after George Floyd's murder in 2020 led several cities and states to rethink how they commemorate difficult chapters of American history, including slavery.
- Cities far from Galveston, like Los Angeles and Albuquerque, New Mexico, began holding their Juneteenth celebrations.
Yes, but: The celebrations saw vendors coming out to hawk Juneteenth-themed shirts, earrings, flags, bandanas, jewelry and toys.
- Local stores and national chains advertised Juneteenth and encouraged shoppers to celebrate the day with some discounts.
- "The language of the United States is money and capitalism," Augusta, Georgia-based criminal defense attorney Keith B. Johnson tells Axios.
- While he uses Juneteenth to reinforce positive, uplifting stories for Black men and boys, he's noticed that some use the day "to see who's firing up the grill" or find a deal on a new flat-screen TV.
The intrigue: Commercialization goes beyond Juneteenth and even seeks to make money off the story of enslavement.
Case in point: CNBC Business News senior editor Lori Ann LaRocco recently wrote a book with her daughter, Abby Wallace, on four Black families and their links to enslavement.
- LaRocco said some advisers to Black families said the stories of Black people needed to be "sold, not told."
- Proceeds from their book, "Embracing Your Past to Empower Your Future: Four Families Descended from Slaves Reflect on Stories of Strength, Love and Gratitude," will fund a college book stipend for descendants of enslaved people.
The bottom line: For decades, Juneteenth in Houston and Galveston was a celebration with parades and family gatherings, but it was also seen as a time for reflection.
- By becoming a federal holiday and moving away from its epicenter, it risks transforming into another day off with passing references to enslavement while searching for a deal on a new dishwasher.
