On Juneteenth

by Annette Gordon-Reed

Patriarchy, which is not only about the subjugation of women but about competition between males, is so central to this story. White males had, since the days of slavery, arrogated to themselves the right to have access to all types of women in society, while strictly prohibiting Black males access to White women, on many occasions becoming murderous about that stricture. The crowds who picnicked while Bennett Jackson was killed, who gathered to watch Joe Winters be burned at the