Juneteenth is a celebration of the end of slavery in America, but it is also a celebration of the beginning of black families living freely and safely. The right of black Americans to build families is a fundamental part of the racial justice we celebrate on June 19th. However, some argue that racial justice and the right to abort preborn children are inextricably linked. This is a popular argument in the wake of Dobbs, but it is misguided. The pro-abortion agenda and true racial justice are fundamentally opposed.
On June 19th, 1865, about 250,000 enslaved black Texans finally learned they had been freed under the Emancipation Proclamation. Although the order had legally gone into effect more than two years earlier, the struggle to subdue Confederate territories continued. One of the first things newly freed slaves did was look for their families, as chattel slavery had cruelly separated parents, children, and siblings. Their frantic efforts to reunite with loved ones was characteristic of the Reconstruction era. Freedom meant building and protecting families and forming strong communities.
The struggle to protect black American families did not end with legal freedom. The premature end of Reconstruction birthed a violent new power structure as southern states choked off many freedoms granted to freed slaves. Almost 100 years after the Civil War and the ratification of the 13th amendment, the civil-rights era began to win back these basic human rights. Black men and women, led in large part by black clergy, fought for the right to education, work, and freely associate, worship, and travel. More importantly, they fought for their children’s rights. The black family has always been the beating heart of efforts for racial justice and reform. The black church has been and needs to be America’s conscience, rallying together, demanding liberty and justice while serving and empowering communities that deserve it most.
However, some activists and pastors tout abortion as one of the “rights” we should celebrate on Juneteenth. This is not only morally incoherent but also offensive. Abortion destroys the families we have fought so hard to protect. It isn’t a “right,” and it builds nothing. Abortion annihilates a life and, in doing so, tears apart the social fabric that binds us together.
There are many problems we must be focused on, such as marriage rates, segregation and school funding, economic inequality, maternal mortality, and police abuses. These are the issues that harm black families the most. Abortion solves none of them. It isn’t justice; it’s death.
The abortion landscape would look different if not for residential segregation, overincarceration, and the devastating impact of deindustrialization. How many more black mothers would feel joy at the prospect of a child, rather than fear? How many more black fathers would be convinced that leading a household was desirable rather than impossible? How many more black families would see hope in their future, rather than confusion and hardship?
This Juneteenth, we should celebrate centuries of sacrifice by black American families, leaders, and clergy on behalf of our civil rights. We should celebrate our emancipation, enfranchisement, and legacy of achievement. We should celebrate the futures we can build while condemning the injustices so many black families face today.
We must reject the deadly lie that abortion liberates or uplifts black Americans. It’s killing us because it’s killing our children. And it’s wounding the communities we’ve worked so hard to build.
