Crowded into her ceremonial office with Black leaders from across the state, June 18, Gov. Maura Healey drew their attention to the Massachusetts 54th Regiment Memorial on the Boston Common below.
To the assembled members of her Advisory Council on Black Empowerment, Healey referenced the bronze tableau of one of the first Black regiments of the American Civil War, upon which she said she looks out at every day when she enters her office.
“I’m just reminded of people who were sent forth by a governor, at that time, to fight the war against slavery, people whose own freedom was not actualized,” she said of the monument, which stands across from the State House.
That invocation was part of remarks at a commemoration of Juneteenth with the council, which she established by executive order in early 2023, and which interfaces with the state’s Black communities to act in an advisory role to the governor on issues around economic prosperity and wellbeing for the state’s Black residents.
Healey said she wanted the event to recognize how the Black community has led the nation forward, as well as how the Council on Black Empowerment has, she said, supported state efforts to advance the principles of equality and opportunity.
Gov. Maura Healey (center) signs a proclamation commemorating Juneteenth at an event with members of the Governor’s Advisory Council on Black Empowerment, in the Governor’s Ceremonial Office in the Massachusetts State House, June 1. PHOTO: AVERY BLEICHFELD
“When our values are under attack and people are trying to take us backwards and remove people from the table and whitewash websites and everything else, it is just more important than ever that we lean in, and we do that leaning on all of you,” she said in her remarks.
For Pratt Wiley, president and CEO at The Partnership, Inc. and a member of the council, it was a moment to celebrate “what the holiday really means.”
“It’s about the difference between words and deeds, right?” Pratt asked. “We don’t celebrate the Emancipation Proclamation; we celebrate Juneteenth. And this is a room where the deed is getting done. Where the walk is being walked.”
Healey, in her remarks, talked, too, about the need for action over words.
“We know that, nationally, there are people who want to take us backward,” Healey said. “We know that progress doesn’t start with proclamations.”
Wiley said he sees action taking place across the state.
“There’s a lot of bluster coming out of Washington, but there’s a lot of substance on the ground,” Wiley said. “That should give us all confidence.”
Nicole Obi, president and CEO of the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts and a member of the council, said she was pleased to see Healey and Lt. Gov. Driscoll celebrate the holiday with the proclamation.
“I would say that that didn’t happen in state houses across the country,” Obi said. “So I was happy that it happened here in Massachusetts, and that the governor and lieutenant governor remain committed to equity and inclusion.”
The importance of the moment stuck with Healey, too. Matching a tone and message that she’s held since the reelection of President Donald Trump in November, Healey said the celebration is especially important given the federal pushback against diversity, equity and inclusion.
“What is within our control as a community? As a state?” Healey asked. “What can we act on and move on, especially in the face of the challenges? And then what do we also have to resist and fight that is coming at us? And we know there is a lot coming at us.”
Driscoll, too, spoke of the role the state can play in continuing to advance equity for communities that need support in the current political climate.
“We’re putting our thumb on the scale for folks who have been marginalized or economically disadvantaged,” she said. “That’s what our role is here, to make sure that we’re doing the best we can for the least among us who need it the most.”
She pointed, as example, to efforts like those in the housing bond bill passed last year to decrease disparities in homeownership rates, or workforce development efforts to diversify sectors like the life sciences.
The importance of celebrating Juneteenth, Obi said, continues despite changes in the federal administration.
“The fact is, it’s Juneteenth,” Obi said. “It is a holiday to commemorate a historical event, and that doesn’t change because of who’s in office.”
The holiday passed without acknowledgement from Trump, though in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, he said he thinks there are “too many non-working holidays.”
Like the governor, Driscoll, too, voiced the administration’s support for efforts against “slings and arrows” coming from the federal administration in a state that she said has always championed progress.
“We’re going to stand strong in Massachusetts,” she said. “We’re not afraid to say diversity, equity and inclusion.”
Juneteenth, Healey said, is a moment in particular to embrace that.
“Juneteenth inspires us,” Healey said in her remarks. “It motivates us to keep going and to keep moving forward and never back down.”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.