As Americans prepare to celebrate Juneteenth for the third time since it became a federal holiday in 2021 ⁠— even as Black Americans have observed it for much longer ⁠— the meaning of the holiday has been increasingly questioned. Amid concerns that Juneteenth is being whitewashed or co-opted, the increasingly corporate nature of Juneteenth celebrations is becoming a cause for concern. How did we get to this point, and what are the dangers ⁠— and the opportunities ⁠— that come as businesses turn their attention to the newly recognized holiday?

Washington endorsed Juneteenth, and companies saw an opportunity.

In the wake of the racial reckoning after George Floyd’s murder in 2020, long-fought movements like police reform and reparations for slavery gained new support. In this context, the years-long campaign by activists like Opal Lee to make Juneteenth a federal holiday suddenly gained widespread support in Washington, with Congress and President Joe Biden quickly moving in 2021 to establish an official Juneteenth holiday, signing the law just days before the holiday occurred that year.

Almost as quickly as Juneteenth became a national holiday, it became a new opportunity for corporations to cash in on the celebration. Some companies have been out of pocket, such as Walmart offering a Juneteenth ice cream or an Ikea manager offering employees watermelon and fried chicken as a Juneteenth menu. But despite these controversies, Juneteenth products, sales and events appear to be here to stay.

A long history of Black holidays and corporate opportunism

Given the atmosphere in which Juneteenth finally became a federal holiday, it was all but inevitable that corporate involvement would be high. In the summer of 2020, several companies started to endorse “Black Lives Matter,” using the phrase that corporations had previously avoided as too controversial. Many companies adopted Black spokespeople to represent their products. While there may have been genuine motivations behind these moves, they also represented attempts by brands to reach out to customers, especially younger ones.

The speed with which companies pounced on the opportunities of Juneteenth is notable. But no one is surprised, considering businesses view the holiday as a trade opportunity since this has happened with Black holidays many times before. Kwanzaa, created in 1966 to celebrate Black culture, long remained a holiday centered in the Black community. But as corporations eventually became aware of the Dec 26-Jan 1 celebration, they began to find ways to incorporate it into the more extensive “holiday season” alongside Christmas and Hanukkah. By the early 1990s, Hallmark and other companies were selling Kwanzaa cards and stores like Woolworth’s were stocking Afrocentric merchandise, among other corporate promotions.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a long-fought commemoration of the civil rights leader and movement, is now synonymous with sales weekends at retail stores and ski weekends at resorts. Black History Month has been incorporated into the marketing strategies of various large corporations, ranging from African-print Nike shoes to discounted Uber rides to Black-themed museums. Juneteenth itself has long been commercialized locally in Texas, where the holiday began; Donald Norman-Cox has documented Juneteenth sales being held by Texas businesses since at least the early 1900s.

The dangers and opportunities of “mainstreaming” Juneteenth

With this history of commodifying Black celebrations, many people are worried Juneteenth is already becoming irreversibly commercialized. As this process continues, fears abound the holiday will be whitewashed to make it more marketable, removing the historical and cultural significance of what had long been a uniquely African American experience.

At the same time, potential opportunities have arisen since Juneteenth became a federal holiday. June, which also coincides with Black Music Appreciation Month, has been used to spotlight many Black artists. The Bidens recently hosted a Juneteenth concert at the White House featuring performers such as Audra McDonald, Jennifer Hudson and Method Man. Similarly, Vice President Kamala Harris will open CNN’s second annual Juneteenth concert, followed by performances by Black artists such as Charlie Wilson, Kirk Franklin, Nelly and more.

Meanwhile, various Black-owned or Black-founded businesses used Juneteenth to implement community-empowerment efforts. At the same time, majority-white companies such as Amazon, Electronic Arts and Twitter provided financial and technical support to Black organizations and businesses. Commercialization has also rapidly spread information about Juneteenth, leading at least some people to learn about the holiday’s history and expand their knowledge of slavery and anti-Black oppression in the United States.

These more positive aspects of the commercialization of Juneteenth have come from an awareness from corporations that they must engage Juneteenth in thoughtful ways that center the holiday on Black people and the Black community. But missteps from companies like Walmart and intentional actions by those who believe Juneteenth should not be “exclusively Black” run the risk of moving Juneteenth farther away from its initial meaning and importance to Black people in this country. Therefore, the next few years will be crucial in determining how authentic and commercialized Juneteenth will be from here on out.

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