What Juneteenth Teaches Us About the Dignity of Belonging

I’ve been sitting with this for a while, trying to find the right words. And the truth is, there’s no neat way to wrap up the weight of Juneteenth in one post. But I can tell you this—it matters. It matters to the people we serve, the communities we live in, and the kind of real estate professional we choose to be.

June 19th, 1865. That’s the day the last enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, finally heard the news: they were free. Two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation. Two and a half years of delay, of stolen freedom, of waiting for a truth that should’ve come sooner. That’s what Juneteenth is. It’s not just a celebration. It’s a reckoning. It’s a reminder of how long justice can take—and how powerful it is when it finally arrives.

Now, I wasn’t raised with Juneteenth. It wasn’t in our schoolbooks. It wasn’t on the calendars in our real estate offices. But over the years—through listening, through learning, and through loving the people in my community who carry this history in their bones—I’ve come to see it for what it is: a sacred day. A day to remember. A day to honor. A day to keep going.

And I’ll tell you plainly: I’m a white woman in the South. I’ve benefited from systems that weren’t built to be fair to everyone. That’s not a confession—it’s a responsibility. I don’t carry the weight of that history the way my Black neighbors do, but I carry a responsibility to face it, to learn from it, and to do better with the privilege I have. Not just in how I treat people, but in how I advocate, how I lead, how I listen, and how I build trust where it’s been broken.

Maybe you’re wondering, Jan, what does this have to do with real estate? But oh, sugar, it has everything to do with real estate. Because at the heart of Juneteenth is the promise of something we talk about every day: home. Not just a deed or a roof overhead—but the dignity of belonging. The right to call a place your own. The chance to rest, to gather, to live without fear. That’s what home should mean. And let’s be honest—there are families in this country who’ve had to fight far too hard just to reach that ground.

Housing hasn’t always been fair. And as much as I love this industry, I know our history isn’t clean. From redlining to restrictive covenants, we’ve got shadows we have to face. But Juneteenth gives us a chance—not just to look back, but to step forward. To commit ourselves to being better. Kinder. More aware. More just.

So I want to say this to every Black family, neighbor, client, and colleague reading this: I see you. I honor your history. I celebrate your joy. And I grieve with you for all the time, the land, the dignity that was taken. You deserve more than acknowledgment—you deserve equity. You deserve agents who do their homework, who speak up, who walk with humility and act with care. I want to be one of those agents.

If you’re an agent reading this, maybe you’re feeling that tug in your gut—that quiet voice that says, “I can do more.” And you can. We all can. We can educate ourselves. We can highlight Black-owned businesses. We can stop and listen when someone shares their story, even if it’s hard to hear. We can lead our clients with honesty, and we can show up for our communities in ways that don’t just say, “I sell houses,” but say, “I stand with you.”

Juneteenth reminds us that freedom delayed is still a wound. But it also reminds us that joy is resistance. That celebrating progress is sacred. And that no matter how long the road, we keep walking—together.

So this week, don’t let the 19th pass by like it’s just another square on the calendar. Sit with it. Honor it. And ask yourself how you can bring that spirit of freedom, truth, and equity into the way you show up for others—inside and outside of real estate.

We talk a lot about building homes. Let’s make sure we’re building a world where everyone feels welcome in them.

With love, reflection, and purpose,

Image from History