A Message from Dr. Gary LeRoy: A Tale of Two Declarations of Freedom

Throughout human history, there have been countless stories told of how people deprived of basic civil liberties have defied all conceivable odds to achieve freedom. Last year I had the privilege of authoring an article to introduce our first ABFM Juneteenth staff celebration. I began by introducing the history of Juneteenth and the historic events that were occurring in Kentucky during the same era. As I pondered what words I could share for the 2024 Juneteenth celebration, my thoughts settled on two profiles of freedom in American history.

After the first permanent English settlement was established in the colony of Virginia at Jamestown in 1607, many other settlers followed. By their own free will, these pioneers left Europe seeking freedom from religious, political, and social persecution. Fast forward to 1776, when ancestors of those who fled to the Americas fought a war for their independence.

Almost a century later, near the shores of Galveston, Texas, enslaved African ancestors, who had arrived on America’s shores absent of freedom, heard the proclamation of freedom in 1865 – long after a national war of civil unrest had concluded. 

As Americans, we understand that the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4^th freed us from the tyrant of an English king. Those former Black slaves in Texas designated June 19^th as their day of independence. Two years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation by President Abraham Lincoln, Juneteenth was born. Both dates in American history are celebrations of freedom. 

These two salient events, although four score and nine years apart, are celebrations of our innate human desire to live free. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men [people] are created equal.” These words were penned in 1776, but similar words, doctrines, and stories of unending societal struggles to make these humane philosophies a reality can be found throughout the history of human existence. Justice is for all, not just for those with self-evident power.

The desire to be free of oppression is not an American concept, nor is it bound by geography, race, gender, age, religious belief, or eras in human history. It is an inalienable reality that history repeatedly demonstrates how freedom denied unleashes the natural human instinct to attain freedom. Once realized, the desire for freedom will rise like an ocean of resistance and burst forward to declare itself free. Juneteenth has evolved into a celebration of freedom for not just people of color, but for all people.

Gary LeRoy, MD, FAAFP serves as Senior Vice President of Diplomate Experience for the American Board of Family Medicine.