What is Juneteenth, and why is it important? - Karlos K. Hill and Soraya Field Fiorio

譯者: Camila Lin 審譯者: Zoe Walmsley

One day, while hiding in the kitchen,

那天，當她躲在廚房的時候，

Charlotte Brooks overheard a life-changing secret.

夏洛特‧布魯克斯聽到 一個改變她人生的秘密。

At the age of 17, she’d been separated from her family

她 17 歲就與家人分離，

and taken to William Neyland’s Texas Plantation.

被帶到威廉‧尼蘭德位於德州的農莊。

There, she was made to do housework at the violent whims of her enslavers.

在那裏，她得作所有家務， 忍耐主人的暴躁無理。

On that fateful day, she learned that slavery had recently been abolished,

在改變她命運的那天， 她聽到奴隸制度剛被廢除，

but Neyland conspired to keep this a secret from those he enslaved.

但尼蘭德卻打算瞞著他的奴隸。

Hearing this, Brooks stepped out of her hiding spot, proclaimed her freedom,

聽到這裡，夏洛特從藏身之處出來， 宣告她已是自由之身，

spread the news throughout the plantation, and ran.

在把消息傳給整個農莊後，逃離現場。

That night, she returned for her daughter, Tempie.

那天晚上，她回來帶走女兒壇貝，

And before Neyland’s spiteful bullets could find them, they were gone for good.

在尼蘭德充滿懷恨開槍前， 她們早已逃之夭夭。

For more than two centuries,

長達兩百多年的奴隸制度 深深影響了美國──

slavery defined what would become the United States—

from its past as the 13 British colonies to its growth as an independent country.

從英屬殖民地的北美十三州 變成一個獨立國家，

Slavery fueled its cotton industry and made it a leading economic power.

奴隸制度讓美國棉業開花結果， 成為經濟實力的領頭羊，

10 of the first 12 presidents enslaved people.

美國最早的十二任總統中 就有十個蓄奴；

And when US chattel slavery finally ended,

在美國終結奴隸動產制前，

it was a long and uneven process.

仍經歷了一段又長又坎坷的路。

Enslaved people resisted from the beginning—

被奴役的人一開始就抗拒──

by escaping, breaking tools, staging rebellions, and more.

逃跑、破壞工具、組織叛亂 等等的許多辦法。

During the American Revolution, Vermont and Massachusetts abolished slavery

美國獨立戰爭期間，佛蒙特州 和麻薩諸塞州廢止奴隸制度，

while several states took steps towards gradual abolition.

而其他數州也逐步廢止。

In 1808, federal law banned the import of enslaved African people,

1808 年，聯邦法規 禁止輸入非洲黑奴，

but it allowed the slave trade to continue domestically.

但仍允許美國境內的奴隸販賣。

Approximately 4 million people were enslaved in the US

1860 年，林肯當選總統時， 全美仍有大約四百萬名奴隸。

when Abraham Lincoln was elected president in 1860.

Lincoln opposed slavery, and though he had no plans to outlaw it,

雖然林肯反對奴隸制度， 也沒有將之取締的計畫，

his election caused panic in Southern states,

他的當選還是讓南方各州驚慌失措，

which began withdrawing from the Union.

開始脫離美國聯邦，

they vowed to uphold slavery and formed the Confederacy,

堅誓維持奴隸制度，並成立南方邦聯，

triggering the start of the American Civil War.

揭開美國內戰的序幕。

A year into the conflict, Lincoln abolished slavery in Washington, D.C.,

內戰一年後，林肯廢止 華盛頓特區的奴隸制度，

legally freeing more than 3,000 people.

依法解放三千多名奴隸。

And five months later, he announced the Emancipation Proclamation.

五個月後，林肯公布解放奴隸宣言，

It promised freedom to the 3.5 million people enslaved in Confederate states.

承諾將給予南方邦聯 治下的 350 萬名奴隸自由，

But it would only be fulfilled if the rebelling states didn’t rejoin the Union

但這些州必須在 1863 年 一月一日前脫離南方邦聯才有效。

by January 1st, 1863.

And it bore no mention of the roughly 500,000 people in bondage

宣言漏提了南北分界各州內 大約五十萬名的奴隸──

in the border states of Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri

包括特拉華州、馬里蘭州、 肯塔基州、密蘇里州，

that hadn’t seceded.

這幾州並沒有加入南方邦聯。

When the Confederacy refused to surrender,

當南方邦聯還在拒絕投降時，

Union soldiers began announcing emancipation.

聯邦軍隊就開始宣告解放奴隸，

But many Southern areas remained under Confederate control,

許多南方地區仍在南方邦聯的控制下，

making it impossible to actually implement abolition throughout the South.

因此幾乎不可能在 南方徹底廢止奴隸制度。

The war raged on for two more years, and on January 31st, 1865,

南北戰爭又持續了兩年多， 直到 1865 年一月 31 日，

Congress passed the 13th Amendment.

國會通過憲法第十三條修正案，

It promised to end slavery throughout the US—

承諾廢止美國全境的奴隸制度，

except as punishment for a crime.

除非是當作犯罪刑罰，

But to go into effect, 27 states would have to ratify it first.

但修正案要生效， 27 個州得先簽屬通過。

Meanwhile, the Civil War virtually ended with the surrender

在此期間，南方邦聯的李將軍投降了，

of Confederate General Robert E. Lee on April 9th, 1865.

1865 年四月九日， 美國內戰正式結束。

But although slavery was technically illegal in all Southern states,

嚴格說來，即使奴隸制度 在南方各州已是非法，

it still persisted in the last bastions of the Confederacy.

卻仍持續到南方邦聯 完整陷落的那一刻，

There, enslavers like Neyland continued to evade abolition until forced.

跟尼蘭德一樣，許多人 持續蓄奴到被迫就範。

This was also the case when Union General Gordon Granger marched his troops

當時另外有個事件──

聯邦將軍戈登‧格蘭傑率軍 在六月十九號進入德州的加爾維斯敦，

into Galveston, Texas, on June 19th

and announced that all enslaved people there were officially free—

宣告當地所有奴隸 依法已是自由之身，

and had been for more than two years.

而這距離立法也已過了兩年多。

Still, at this point, people remained legally enslaved in the border states.

直到當時，蓄奴在南北分界的 一些州境內仍是合法的，

It wasn’t until more than five months later, on December 6th, 1865,

一直要到五個多月後的 1865 年十二月六日，

that the 13th Amendment was finally ratified.

第十三條修正案終於正式生效，

This formally ended chattel slavery in the US.

正式終結美國的奴隸動產制度。

Because official emancipation was a staggered process,

由於奴隸解放的過程漫長坎坷，

people in different places commemorated it on different dates.

不同地方的人選在不同的日期紀念。

Those in Galveston, Texas, began celebrating “Juneteenth”—

德州的加爾維斯敦最先開始慶祝 Juneteenth「六月節」──

a combination of “June” and “nineteenth”—

名稱結合了「六月」和「十九日」──

on the very first anniversary of General Granger’s announcement.

就從格蘭傑將軍宣言 滿一周年那天開始。

Over time, smaller Juneteenth gatherings gave way to large parades.

漸漸的，小型的六月節慶祝 演變成盛大的遊行，

And the tradition eventually became

最終，這項傳統成為了

the most widespread of emancipation celebrations.

奴隸解放最普遍的慶祝方式。

But, while chattel slavery had officially ended,

然而，即便奴隸動產制度正式結束，

racial inequality, oppression, and terror had not.

種族的不平等、排擠 和仇恨問題卻沒有終結。

Celebrating emancipation was itself an act of continued resistance.

慶祝奴隸解放的本身 正是持續抵抗的證明。

And it wasn't until 2021 that Juneteenth became a federal holiday.

六月節一直到 2021 年 才成為聯邦國定假日。

Today, Juneteenth holds profound significance as a celebration

如今，六月節這個假日 有著深厚的意義──

of the demise of slavery, the righteous pursuit of true freedom for all,

慶祝奴隸制度的廢止、 人皆自由的公義願景、

and a continued pledge to remember the past and dream the future.

以及緬懷過去、築夢未來的永恆承諾。