Honoring Black Heroes On Juneteenth

             Many of my amazing heroes are Black persons—including and especially my Fourth Circuit Judge Roger L. Gregory, who embodies grace, decorum, and dignity in addition to brilliance. Judge Gregory long ago reenforced an idea that I already knew and that scholars like Ibram X. Kendi have written eloquent books about—namely that our country (the United States) has never been equal or fair and that white persons (including white women, though mostly white wealthy men) have been the beneficiaries of unfairness. 

                  A prime example of an aspect of the U.S. Constitution that embodies unfairness is the 3/5th clause,which states that slaves are counted as 3/5ths of all other persons under American law. Even though the Constitution was amended after the Civil War to include the Reconstruction Amendments—namely the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments—the 3/5th clause was never stricken or removed from the Constitution even though it was effectively superseded (and I don’t actually know a method for editing the original text of the Constitution under U.S. law). That means an anachronistic, deeply racist part of the Constitution, even while superseded, is still encoded in the U.S. Constitution.

                  Notwithstanding the blatant racism baked into the Constitution, many of my heroes have been Black persons—including Black women—who have risked their lives for the dream of democracy and what it stands for. Although the country has now declared war on critical race theory and DEI (or specifically Donald Trump has and certain states have), it is worth remembering the black persons who have served this country as patriots, including serving in the military. 

                  I commend to the Universe the amazing Netflix show The Six Triple Eight about Black women who served during World War II—some of whom died—to ensure soldiers and their families received mail that was delivered to and from the frontlines to help keep up troop morale. Even though these women did not see combat except being blown up by land mines, these Black women performed an incredibly valuable and patriotic service to the United States by effectuating the delivery of letters from the frontlines. It’s also a beautifully romantic story and includes an interracial courtship between a Black woman and a Jewish man. 

                  In sum, today, Juneteenth, is a holiday, and it is appropriate to remember the legions of Black persons who have and continue to make this country great despite, not because, of white supremacists who have stood in the way. 


-Cortelyou C. Kenney, 6/19/25 1:57 pm PT

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