I plan to spend the day in hiding.
No visitors.
No phone calls.
No social media.
Just me and the cat.
Maybe I'll read a novel (Native Son would be suitable).
I'm taking this lonely route because I fear I'll commit a faux pas.
Not that I wish to monetize Juneteenth, as Walmart tried to do.
I don't.
And not that I want to mark the holiday with some festive food, as the Children's Museum of Indianapolis tried to do.
I just want to lay low.
And I will.
Walmart's offense was patent.
The retailer introduced Juneteenth Ice Cream.
It met with a cold reception.
The Children's Museum committed a less blatant, but equally stinging, offense.
It put Juneteenth Watermelon Salad on its cafeteria menu.
You could say the salad got the museum in hot soup.
Both institutions had to eat crow.
But I won't have to: I'm going to avoid the Juneteenth minefield altogether.
Along with the picnics and block parties and family celebrations, the new federal holiday promises to usher in a heightened vigilance for racist tropes. I don't want to be in the vigilantes' gunsights. So, I'm cocooning.
Maybe I'll order in Chinese.
Above: New Dragon Takeout by Robert Francis James. Oil on canvas. 20 x 16 inches. Ships framed. Available here.
