From June 19th to the 4th of July: An Invitation to Faithful Christian Patriotism

By Dr. Rachel Marie Brooks Atkins

Opal Lee is a retired schoolteacher and counselor. But she is most known for her activism in the movement to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. In 2016, at the age of 89, she embarked on a symbolic walk from Fort Worth, Texas, to Washington, DC. When she arrived in January of 2017, she hoped to plead her case to then-President Barack Obama. But she would not see the fruit of her labor until June 2021, when President Joe Biden signed a bill passed into law by Congress making Juneteenth a federal holiday.

In a documentary called Juneteenth Faith & Freedom, Ms. Lee spoke with Rasool Berry, the film’s producer and host (and PMA’s Director of Thought Leadership), about her experience. Near the end of the documentary, she remarks, “I advocate celebrating freedom from the 19th of June to the 4th of July.” I agree with Ms Lee. Such a celebration would provide an extended occasion for both revelry and remembrance. As a follower of Jesus Christ, I look in scripture and see God instituting feasts and festivals so his people would remember what he accomplished on their behalf. On a spiritual level, I am persuaded that two weeks of celebrating and remembering the stories of those who fought to make freedom a reality in this country would be good for my soul. But on a practical level, such a celebration may offer an opportunity to reimagine patriotism at a time when nationalism is on the rise domestically and abroad.

Patriotism vs Nationalism

As the Independence Day holiday approached, I had conversations with friends who expressed ambivalence about celebrating the holiday. They fear that their patriotic expressions will add to growing nationalist displays. My advice to address these concerns is not to cede the grounds of patriotism to those who conflate it with nationalism. Merriam-Webster defines patriotism as simply the “love for or devotion to one's country.” By contrast, nationalism is “an ideology that elevates one nation or nationality above all others and that places primary emphasis on the promotion of its culture and interests as opposed to those of other nations, nationalities, or supranational groups”.

The Oxford Research Encyclopedia’s article on nationalism highlights that “…nationalist thought proposes a specific form of partiality. Rather than treat the interests or claims of persons and groups impartially, the nationalist demands that one favors one’s own, either as a group or as individual persons.” In their article The Case Against Nationalism, Alex Nowrasteh and Ilya Somin argue that nationalism’s “foundational principle is that government exists primarily to protect the culture and interests of the nation, or its dominant group” and that “[t]o promote the dominant group, government must have the power to act assertively on its behalf, which necessarily means constraining others.” Nationalist ideas that promote this kind of partiality stand in contrast to God’s character, faithful Christian practice, and the very freedoms we claim to celebrate on our most patriotic federal holidays.

Faithful Patriotic Practices

What might it look like to celebrate freedom from Juneteenth to Independence Day? I propose 3 practices to mark this 2-week celebration:

• Learning the breadth and depth of US history: One way to celebrate and remember freedom from Juneteenth to the 4th of July is by dedicating time to learning US history. There is not much data on this topic, but the available data tells us that most natural-born US citizens know very little US history. According to a survey by the Institute for Citizens & Scholars, just 1 in 3 Americans would pass the U.S. Citizenship Test. They report that most Americans lack basic knowledge about the nation’s founding. There are countless reasons why we should spend time learning more about US history. Chief among them is the idea shared by Spanish philosopher George Santayana that “those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it”.
  
  Learning important dates and names in history is insufficient. A more faithful patriotism requires breadth and depth of knowledge about the stories that shape us. How can we possibly love a country that we don’t know?
  
  At Pray March Act (PMA), we hosted a book club that met in the weeks prior to and on the Juneteenth holiday. A small group of us gathered both virtually and in person to read and discuss Dr Malcom Foley’s book The Anti-Greed Gospel: Why the Love of Money is the Root of Racism and How the Church Can Create a New Way Forward. While it is not obvious from the title, this book delves into the history of lynching during the post-bellum period in US history. Dr. Foley used the history of lynching to unpack his primary thesis: that racism is primarily about greed, not hate. Learning about periods in US history that are less well known is a great way to celebrate and remember. I am thankful that the dark period of mass lynchings is behind us. It is something to celebrate. But if we forget that we are capable of this type of greed-fueled vigilante violence, we risk repeating it, perhaps with a modern-day twist.  
  
  Aside from hosting or attending a book club, we can celebrate and remember by watching documentaries, visiting museums, attending lectures, or viewing historical reenactments. These methods of learning history allow us to delve deeper into more familiar stories and expand beyond them to those less well-known. Engaging in a regular rhythm of learning our shared history can cultivate a deeper and more authentic love of country.

• Wrestling with the uncomfortable parts of our past: Another way to celebrate and remember freedom from Juneteenth to the 4th of July is by setting aside time to wrestle with the more difficult or uncomfortable parts of our past. Christians are sometimes referred to as people of the Book because of our focus on the Bible. As a Christian, I have always been fascinated by the fact that the Bible does not present an airbrushed picture of God’s people. Some of the most celebrated Biblical figures, known for their faithfulness or courage, are presented with all of their flaws. Father Abraham, who is lauded for his great faith, fails to trust God’s plan and in the process, inflicts unspeakable pain on Hagar, his wife’s servant. David, the king after God’s own heart, pursues a married woman and kills her husband to cover his tracks. The list goes on and on.
  
  These stories are uncomfortable to say the least. And in the same way that I wrestle with what to make of figures like Abraham and David, I struggle to make sense of Thomas Jefferson who penned “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” all the while enslaving human beings for economic gain. What Jefferson and the founders accomplished was extraordinary. The experiment in self-government they commenced at our nation’s founding is something to celebrate and remember. But faithful remembrance must acknowledge those who were excluded from the freedom Jefferson fought for. True patriotism, love of the country as it is, not as it has been airbrushed, requires us to see the contradictions in our nation’s story and struggle with them.
  
  We can honor America by wrestling with the chasm between her espoused values and the values on display throughout her history. And I would argue that we wrestle most effectively in community. During the PMA Juneteenth book club, we dialogued about a variety of contentious issues. Some members of the group really struggled with the history of race and systemic racism at the heart of Dr. Foley’s book because they thought these concepts were poorly defined. Others wrestled with the horrors of lynching and mob violence that took justice into their own hands in a Nation that prides itself on the rule of law. The book club did not resolve these tensions for every participant. But the federal holiday and accompanying day off from work afforded us the time and space to gather for a group discussion that challenged our assumptions and expanded our horizons.
  

•  Perfecting our union through civic engagement: We can celebrate and remember freedom by doing our part to secure it for ourselves, our neighbors, and the generations to come. In the preamble to the US Constitution, its framers penned the following: “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity…” Learning and wrestling with our history increases our understanding of why these values were so important and how our founders put these values into action. But our history also helps us understand why we have not fully realized the vision these founders established.
  
  When I read these constitutional mandates regarding justice, peace, protection, flourishing, and liberty, it reminds me of Christ’s call to love our neighbors. What is civic engagement if not an opportunity for neighbor love? And what is patriotism or love of country if not the love of our country people? What better way to celebrate freedom from June 19th to the 4th of July than by engaging in neighborly love through civic engagement?
  
  Civic engagement is a broad concept that encompasses a vast number of activities. It can feel daunting to know where and how to begin. But we can celebrate freedom and honor America by picking just one activity to engage in between Juneteenth and Independence Day. Are you registered to vote? If not, that’s a great place to start. If you are registered, you can register friends and family or identify neighbors who can use assistance learning where and how to register. Alternatively, you can take time to research pending legislation to see if it promotes or thwarts justice, especially for our most vulnerable neighbors. After doing your research, contact your representative and ask them to cast a vote that promotes justice. This is particularly relevant when legislative bodies at the local, state, and federal levels are voting to pass a budget for the next fiscal year. Finally, you can spend time with vulnerable neighbors learning about their needs. This will empower you to advocate for them at the ballot box or by contacting your representative if a vital service they need is in danger of being eliminated (services like Medicaid, for example). These are just a few simple ways to engage civically as an act of celebration and remembrance.