Not just another day off
At the “Juneteenth Lunch and Learn” last Tuesday, Delbert Richardson, the guest speaker, was asked, “how can someone who is not African American participate in Juneteenth?” I loved his response. He challenged us to both acknowledge it and educate ourselves. I am working to do both! Part of my effort includes “reading” Doris Kearns Goodwin’s “Leadership for Turbulent Times” (Actually, I am listening to it on Audible, while I read another powerful book!). Kearns Goodwin looks at four U.S. presidents confronting extreme challenges and how they responded. One is Abraham Lincoln and his decision to issue the Emancipation Proclamation, effective January 1, 1863, freeing the slaves in the states in rebellion. A few points stood out powerfully to me. First, Lincoln believed it was right and necessary for the…