Juneteenth: Let's celebrate

Alex Cnossen

Alex Cnossen Jun 22, 2025

Feb 6, 2018

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                <h1>Juneteenth: Let's celebrate</h1>
                <h2><p>For South Seattle Emerald columnist Cindi Azevedo Laws, the Fourth of July doesn't capture the full meaning of freedom. For her, the meaning became more with Juneteenth — today — a state holiday in Texas, honoring the freeing of American slaves there in 1865. Juneteenth, she writes. “deserves bigger and</p></h2>
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               <p>By <a href="/author/alex-cnossen-crosscut-com/">Alex Cnossen</a></p> 
              <p><time datetime="2025-02-04T05:00:00-08:00">Feb 6, 2018</time></p>
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            <p>For South Seattle Emerald <a href="http://southseattleemerald.com/2015/06/19/emerald-in-the-rough-juneteenth-and-independence-for-all/?ref=avalancheghost.one">columnist Cindi Azevedo Laws</a>, the Fourth of July doesn't capture the full meaning of freedom. For her, the meaning became more with Juneteenth — today — a state holiday in Texas, honoring the freeing of American slaves there in 1865. Juneteenth, she writes. “deserves bigger and broader recognition since freedom, equality and representation continue to be elusive in this county." Law suggests that the United States continues to allow exploitation of the poor and immigrants, but, by remembering Juneteenth, Americans could learn from history.</p>
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For South Seattle Emerald columnist Cindi Azevedo Laws, the Fourth of July doesn't capture the full meaning of freedom. For her, the meaning became more with Juneteenth — today — a state holiday in Texas, honoring the freeing of American slaves there in 1865. Juneteenth, she writes. “deserves bigger and broader recognition since freedom, equality and representation continue to be elusive in this county." Law suggests that the United States continues to allow exploitation of the poor and immigrants, but, by remembering Juneteenth, Americans could learn from history.

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By Alex Cnossen

Alex Cnossen is a Northwest native and has worked for several local publications, including KOMO, KIRO and KING-TV. He grew up in Portland and loves to run and write. Follow him on Twitter @CnossenAle