The scholarship on Juneteenth and Emancipation Celebrations is limited which explains why the public memory of such events is little. I think it is also important to note that Juneteenth and its origins is rooted in Midwestern and Western United States. This is interesting in the fact that not many people recognize the presence and history of black Americans apart from Southern United States history. That said, this information allows people who are not educated to broaden their perceptions of American blackness and Pan-Africanism.

In the political and cultural memory. of the United States, I appreciate Rountree's ability to counter the whitewasing of history. Often, I pose indigenous history as something disavowed not only in memory but also in politics as they work in accordance with each other.

All of this was purely under duress though and I want to counter the use of the word "desire". I think the threat of colonists necessitated the marriage between Pocahontas and John Rolfe so that she could keep her people safe. Also, why doesn't the article use her name Matoaka? Upon the article telling her English name, they continued using it in the following sentences.

In reference to the constant disavowal of Indigenous people and culture in the United States, doesn't the collective memory do more harm than good? Why must social identity, authority, and political affiliation in this context be prioritized at the expense of others?

Seldom are leaders the people who look like the masses, rather it is people out of touch. That being said, the leaders can often skew and capitalize off the malleable nature of memory, either political, cultural, or vernacular.

This reminds me of the news coverage during the 2020-2021 racial unrest following George Floyd's murder. While a lot of people responded with the demonstrations and looting as unnecessary and violent, it can that be perceived in the manner that DeBerry had, all of these actions are just visceral reaction to centuries of brutality and enslavement, what is that compared to weeks and days of retaliation?

Although Abraham Lincoln was the Great Emancipator, I feel like there is a collective disavowal in political memory to see him as a leader without faults. Had the USA not been separated due to the dependency on enslaved economies, creating the North v South states, perhaps Abraham Lincoln would not enact the Emancipation Proclamation that alleviated the chaos of the Civil War.