This Juneteenth felt different.
It called for a deeper kind of reflection. I found myself thinking not only about history, but about the moment we are in now.
At a time when we are witnessing the steady erasure of centuries of Black history and the dismantling of voting rights, I am reminded that freedom has never been guaranteed. Freedom, like climate justice, depends on sustained vigilance, care and collective action.
I find myself paying closer attention to how the changing climate is shaping our daily lives, and asking who gets to live safely, who has access to resources and whose communities are allowed to thrive. I have come to the quick conclusion that climate justice is not separate from the fight for Black freedom; it is part of it.
As I sit with that reality, I have returned to the words of Dr. Angela Davis, who spoke last month at the Black Equity Collective’s Equity & Justice Symposium. “We must always be prepared for unexpected changes,” she said. Hearing her say that — in a room with more than 500 Black leaders and activists — made the moment feel even more real. Our freedom to vote, and our ability to breathe clean air and drink safe water, depend on how we respond to today’s changes.
The symposium centered on “The Arc of Black Permanency,” a vision for sustaining Black leadership, institutions and community across generations. Its focus was ensuring that Black communities endure and thrive, even as the ground beneath us continues to shift.
So how do we respond to constant shifts?
First, we must be consistent and intentional in how we invest in young people. They are inheriting a world shaped by extreme heat, poor air quality, flooding and displacement, but they are not accepting those conditions as fixed. The young people I meet are clear about what they are up against — and what they are not willing to accept. They are organizing, naming environmental harm and pushing for a world where clean air, clean water and safe communities are rights.
Uplifting youth leadership requires those of us who are established in this work to make room for the people coming behind us. Our role is not to hold on to power, but to support their ideas and trust in their ability to lead in ways that meet this moment.
Just as critical as clearing the way for future leaders is showing up for each other in the present. Juneteenth is rooted in collective survival, in the ways newly freed Black communities built systems of care when none existed for them.
Far too often, the people facing the greatest harm receive the least support from the systems they should be able to rely on. Staying rooted and in community with one another is what allows us to endure. This is what Black Permanency looks like in practice.
Lastly, we need to constantly ask ourselves a simple question: What do I have the capacity to do? Every day we must be honest with ourselves about what we can commit to. And we must maintain the discipline to follow through.
Juneteenth demands remembrance and decision. Our freedom rests not only in what was won, but in what we choose to protect and extend — including the right to clean air, safe water and a life lived with dignity.
Margot Brown is vice president for equity and justice for the Environmental Defense Fund