Taylor Swift Vows to ‘Never Let Privilege Lie Dormant’ in Powerful Juneteenth Message
Taylor Swift is calling for Juneteenth to be made a national holiday.
The Lover hit-maker is the latest celebrity to speak out about the importance of June 19 — also known as Freedom Day and Black Independence Day — the day slavery ended in the United States and the day in 1865 when slaves in Texas found out they were free.
Swift shared an article on social media from The Root that featured journalist Danielle Young explaining the history of the holiday.
"Happy Juneteenth! I want to thank @TheRoot and @RhapsoDani for allowing me to post this video about the significance of today, June 19th, and why it should be celebrated as a National holiday," she tweeted.
The 30-year-old pop star also revealed that she's giving all her employees the day off "in honor of Freedom Day from now on" and promised to "continue to educate [herself] on the history that brought us to this present moment."
More importantly, Swift pledged to be "loudly and ferociously anti-racist," as well as "never let privilege lie dormant."
She added, "For my family, everything that has transpired recently gives us an opportunity to reflect, listen, and reprogram any part of our lives that hasn’t been loudly and ferociously anti-racist, and to never let privilege lie dormant when it could be used to stand up for what’s right."
Swift has become more vocal about racial injustice in the wake of George Floyd's death, which sparked ongoing nationwide protests against police brutality. She also previously slammed Donald Trump on Twitter for "stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism" for seemingly threatened to send the military to shoot protesters in Minneapolis.