Juneteenth Banner In Greenville, S.C. Features White Faces

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Why is it so damn hard to celebrate Black people without some sort of pesky white interference?

The city of Greenville, South Carolina is getting FLAMED on social media for their inexplicably headassy decision to feature smiling white faces on their Juneteenth celebration marketing materials.

According to WCNC, Pete Lee, co-founder of Juneteenth GVL, initially defended the promo with a message about being inclusive and having a “seat at the table.”

“The images on the flag were very intentional,” Pete Lee, co-founder of Juneteenth GVL, said Wednesday. “No matter what you believe, it takes everybody to come together and support and push any vision forward. We have been for so long asking for a seat at the table. We have been knocking at the door for so long to include us. Now that we have a seat at the table, the last thing we want to do is what’s been done for years is to exclude.”

His message was followed by that of Rueben Hays, Founder and Executive Director of Juneteenth GVL, who told WCNC that the banners were designed to show the public that all races of people were welcome to celebrate the holiday.

“We understand that it’s a very sensitive subject, especially in the African American community,” Hays said amid an apology being posted on Facebook. “We failed at making sure that we completely centered African Americans at the center of our marketing, of all of our marketing.”

And therein lies the problem. Why should other races feel not welcome to celebrate something that ALL AMERICANS should be happy about just because Black people are centered? What is it about Black faces that intimidate others so badly that they couldn’t be comfortable enough to rejoice over the “end” of SLAVERY? The road to hell is paved with good intentions and there should have definitely been some deeper thinking about the message that was being broadcast to the public.

In addition to the apology, Juneteenth GVL will be changing all the banners to Pan-African flags.