Joe Biden's Juneteenth Speech Used Values to Support Policies

Kamala Harris and Joe Biden at Juneteenth Ceremony

On June 19, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger arrived with his Union army in Galveston, Texas.
Enforcing the Emancipation Proclamation, he decreed that all Texas slaves were now free and equal. Juneteenth commemorates the formal abolition of slavery in Texas. By extension, it has become a national a symbol of liberation. Texas has proudly celebrated June 19 as a state holiday since 1979. Two days ago, President Joe Biden signed a bill making Juneteenth a national holiday. His White House speech did not merely celebrate slavery’s end, but also challenged the nation to adopt further civil rights legislation. Biden did not make the usual kinds of policy arguments that we expect from Democrats: for example, he didn’t give facts and figures about racial oppression, nor did he cite examples from recent history of African Americans needlessly killed by police.

Instead, following the example of all good ceremonial speakers, Biden moved straight from values to policy. Juneteenth represents values. Facts and figures prove truth, which is excellent, but it is values – the distinctions between good and evil, the contrast between what is worthy of praise and what deserves blame – that warms people’s hearts and moves them to action.

First, Biden Praised Juneteenth

Starting his argument, Biden contrasted the horrors of slavery against the promise of liberation that Juneteenth celebrates:

“Juneteenth marks both the long, hard night of slavery and subjugation, and a promise of a brighter morning to come. This is a day of profound — in my view — profound weight and profound power.”

Instead of hiding from the evils of slavery, as too many politicians do, Biden describes slavery as “the moral stain,” and referred to it as “America’s original sin.”

In a clever rhetorical move, Biden praised the bipartisanship which enabled Democrats and Republicans in Congress alike to vote for the bill that made Juneteenth a national holiday:

“I’m especially pleased that we showed the nation that we can come together as Democrats and Republicans to commemorate this day with the overwhelming bipartisan support of the Congress.”

Finally, to bring home the human side of Juneteenth, he introduced Ms. Opal Lee, a 94-year-old African-American woman from Texas who had celebrated Juneteenth since her girlhood. Lee had been campaigning on foot for decades to make Juneteenth a holiday.


Second, Biden Transitioned to the Need for Change

People only change if they feel a compelling need. Biden reminded his audience that we had just noted the anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre. He concluded that:

“Great nations don’t ignore their most painful moments. Great nations don’t ignore their most painful moments. They don’t ignore those moments of the past. They embrace them. Great nations don’t walk away. . . . And in remembering those moments, we begin to heal and grow stronger.”

Third, Biden Called for New Policies

Having celebrated the values of Juneteenth, and having reminded the audience that we need changes, Biden listed a series of new policies:

“To honor the true meaning of Juneteenth, we have to continue toward that promise because we’ve not gotten there yet.”

Biden felt that it was important to increase homeownership by African-Americans. So, the first policy that Biden advocated was to overcome housing discrimination:

“That’s why we’ve launched an aggressive effort to combat racial discrimination in housing — finally address the cruel fact that a home owned, to this day, by a Black American family is usually appraised at a lower rate for a similar home owned by a white family in a similar area.”

Recognizing the importance of education, Biden advocated improved public preschool education:

“That’s why we’re working to give each and every child, three and four years of age, not daycare, but school — in a school. (Applause.)”

Next in his policy list, Biden turned to college education. His idea was to increase the opportunities for African American students to participate in faculty research. He said that he sought to encourage “the incredibly creative and innovation – innovation of the history – of our Historical Black Colleges and Universities.” Biden said that increased research centers at those schools would help their students prepare for advanced industrial jobs.


And Voting Rights

None of those good things will happen if people don’t vote. Ever since Reconstruction ended, African-Americans have struggled for the right to vote. Republican legislatures across the country are even now proposing and often passing laws that make it harder for people to vote, especially if they are elderly or live in urban or rural areas. These restrictions will presumably impact minority voting at a high level, just as literacy tests impacted African-American voting in the Jim Crow era. Biden faced voting rights head-on:

“We see this assault from restrictive laws, threats of intimidation, voter purges, and more — an assault that offends the very democracy — our very democracy.”

Once again, Biden focused on values: “offends . . . our very democracy.”


And, Finally, Back to Values

We started this discussion by looking at how ceremonial speeches talk about values. Ceremonial speakers push their policies with values, not detailed proof. Going full-circle in his conclusion, Biden returned to the values of Juneteenth:

“We can’t rest until the promise of equality is fulfilled for every one of us in every corner of this nation. That, to me, is the meaning of Juneteenth. That’s what it’s about.”

History. Values. Equality. African-American tradition. A long, ugly heritage of slavery and voter suppression. Conservatives, of course, often prefer to ignore these things. If we admit something is wrong, we concede the need to change.

Mike Pence’s Speech at the Marine Barracks: Policy without Proof?

Given Congress’ extreme partisanship, combined with the Republican impulse to oppose anything and everything, Biden wisely emphasized the bipartisan legislation that established Juneteenth. Maybe, one hopes, if Republicans get in the habit of occasionally voting for good things, we might be able to move forward.

And, yes, Biden is right. Our mistakes are better teachers than our triumphs. Slavery and racial oppression were horrible mistakes. Biden supported his list of policies by citing values – values that Republicans and Democrats alike had endorsed in legislation. Celebrating Juneteenth’s values, Biden urged the nation to move forward. As the United States celebrates the first national Juneteenth holiday, are we ready to move into the future?



P.S. American slavery did not end at once. The Emancipation Proclamation only freed slaves in areas that were not under Union control, so its effect was delayed. The 13th Amendment came later. In real life, slavery continued in the South, at a reduced level, well into the 1920s under various legalistic tricks. For further information about one of those tricks, check out the movie Sounder and watch it with your family. Chain gangs, in which African-American men received long prison terms at forced labor on trumped-up charges, were supposedly abolished before World War II. However, I often saw them in rural Virginia as late as the 1960s.

Research Note

An extensive research literature shows how ceremonial speakers use values and traditions to advocate policies. I have contributed a few papers and chapters to the topic. I’m happiest about “African-American Rhetoric of Greeting during McKinley’s Front Porch Campaign,” which I published in 2010 in the Howard Journal of Communication. To read an almost-final copy at no charge, click William D. Harpine’s Publications above. In the technical literature, ceremonial speaking is also called epideictic speaking (from a Greek word that means “showing forth”) or “occasional speaking” (which refers to a speech given on a particular occasion.)

Image: White House YouTube channel. 

Mike Pence Heckled by the Christian Right Because He Didn't Bow to Trump

Mike Pence, White House photo

Earlier today, former Vice President Mike Pence faced loud heckles of “traitor!” and “boo!” when he spoke to the convention of the conservative Faith and Freedom Coalition. The angry audience remembered that Pence had failed to show sufficient deference to Donald Trump when he certified the Electoral College vote.

The Coalition’s annual "Road to the Majority" gathering brings together a collection of conservative politicians, leaders of the Christian Right, and deranged conspiracy theorists. They say that their goal is to bring Christianity into the government.


Christianity Becomes a Weapon

Yet, Trump aside, I would have thought that the Coalition would like the things that Pence spoke about so passionately. Indeed, near the end, he called the United States to “reject Critical Race Theory in all its forms.” That should appeal to even the most bigoted conservatives. He said we would not let “Nancy Pelosi nationalize our elections.” He opposed “religious persecution masquerading as a quest for equal rights.” The Coalition’s purpose is to turn the Christian faith into a weapon that advances political conservatism. Many of the Christian Right’s policy ideas, including oppressing immigrants, flatly contradict biblical morality. The Christian Right doesn't care about mercy to immgrants. That isn’t their point.

So, it is not really the Coalition’s purpose to spread Christian morality. Pence apparently didn’t fully understand this. Indeed, at the speech’s outset, Pence missed the point when he said:

“It is great to be back with so many patriots.”

That got some cheers. But he next said that:

“I’m a Christian, a conservative and a Republican, in that order.”

As he uttered those words, which were, one would think, exactly what the Coalition should want to hear, the crowd shouted “traitor” and booed him. For a time, it became difficult to hear Pence speak. The crowd booed Pence because Donald Trump is the Christian Right’s champion. 

So, in his policies, ideas, and words, Mike Pence is exactly what the Christian Right pretends to support. Unfortunately, he failed in the one test that mattered: absolute loyalty to Trump.


Conservatives Are Cancelling Their Own People

And, so conservatives once again employed (or tried to employ) cancel culture against their own people! Pence had failed to bow to Trump. America’s conservative movement has degenerated to personal loyalty to a most unworthy man. That many members of the Faith and Freedom Coalition demand absolute loyalty to a person, rather than to God, should warn us about their intentions.

That is why the hecklers could not abide Pence. Why they did not even want him to speak. Pence had, unforgivably, accurately counted the Electoral College vote for President on January 6. Donald Trump had famously urged Pence not to count the votes as part of his corrupt Stop the Steal campaign to void the election. At the time, Trump had falsely said that Pence could “decertify the results or send them back to the states for change and certification.”

The Coalition’s reaction to Pence was extremely ironic. Conservatives often complain about what they call cancel culture. They think it’s awful when conservatives are not allowed to speak. Conservatives complained bitterly, and rightly, when libertarian scholar Charles Murray was heckled off a college stage. Today, they turned around and heckled one of their own. This really does need to stop.

Free speech on campus, Charles Murray 

Cancel Culture Gone Amok: Governor Brian Kemp Was Shouted Down by His Own People

  
It wasn’t just the heckling. The Christian Right’s entire function is to stop reasoned speech in its tracks. When they heckled Mike Pence, members of the Faith and Freedom Coalition made it clear that they wanted to stop him from speaking. Even more, however, the Christian Right’s purpose is to shut down reasoned debate. We can debate about any element of American domestic and foreign policy. But when one side claims – falsely, in my opinion – that they represent true religion, how do we argue with that? The Christian Right’s entire ethos is to pretend that they are serving God. Can we argue with Mike Pence? Certainly. But who wants to argue with God? And so, by pretending to speak for God, the Christian Right employs the ultimate conversation stopper. 

Paula White Prayed against Trump's Enemies and Gave a Lesson in How to Shut Down Reasoned Debate


Conclusion

Pence angered some members of the Coalition enough that they wanted him heckled off the stage. Did Pence foolishly think that these people pursued Christian ideals? The crowd’s hostile reaction to Pence shows that they sought political power, not religious perfection. Does the Christian Right think that faith requires loyalty to God? Or to Trump? For Trump is not God. Let us remember, however, that the Christian Right can only define God if other Christians allow them to do so.

Yes, the conservative movement shrinks daily. But as its followers become more fanatical, its baneful power grows.

The Golden Trump Statue at CPAC 2021: Conservatives Worshipping a Golden Idol?   

How to Heckle in a Tasteful and Witty Manner 


P.S. Security at the Faith and Freedom Coalition Conference escorted some of the worst hecklers out of the room. Many of them, however, were apparently allowed to remain. Pence was able to complete his speech, although, to my ears, he sounded just a bit subdued or chagrined. He got a few cheers here and there.

Biden's G7 Speech Put the Coronavirus Epidemic in Human Terms by Using a Simple Public Speaking Method

Joe Biden, White House Portrait

During a major foreign policy speech in Cornwall, United Kingdom, President Joe Biden used a simple, never-fail method to present statistics. Liberal politicians often do a terrible job when they try to prove points by giving numbers. Biden did it right.

What Biden did was to emphasize the coronavirus epidemic’s losses by comparing the United States’ pandemic deaths against American wartime deaths:

“And tonight, I’m making a historic announcement regarding America’s leadership in the fight against COVID-19. America knows firsthand the tragedies of this pandemic. We’ve had — we’ve had more people die in the United States than anywhere in the world: nearly 600,000 of our fellow Americans — moms, dads, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, grandparents. More deaths from COVID-19 in the United States than from World War One, World War Two, the Vietnam War, and 9/11 combined — combined. We know the tragedy.” 

Why does this matter? Simple: poorly-presented statistics bore audiences to tears. People hear numbers and instantly tune out. (It’s often said that people have trouble understanding any number greater than five. I don’t believe that, but there’s no doubt that piles of statistics can numb people’s minds.)

When people hear numbers, they want to know what the numbers really mean. It’s been estimated that more than 900,000 Americans have died from this disease. But that raw number, horrifying though it should be, has little emotional impact. Presented plainly, it’s only a number like any other number. It’s all too easy for Fox News hosts and Republican politicians to shrug their shoulders and say, “so what?”

Coronavirus, CDC image

Seeking to avoid that response, Biden brought the statistic home by adding up the number of deaths from four wars. More people have died during the coronavirus epidemic than from all of these wars added together. Each war was a major tragedy, and each left countless thousands of bereaved families. If coronavirus is a war, it is the worst war in the last century of American history.

Any number of other comparisons might have also worked. Biden could have said that the coronavirus victims could have filled Ohio State University’s massive stadium six times over. Sports fans could visualize the crowds. Biden could have compared the number of deaths to the entire population of Jacksonville, Florida. Any of these comparisons would help people understand the tragedy’s size.

Biden’s comparison to wars, however, had more emotional impact. Most American families have either lost a loved one in war, or know someone who has. We can empathize with the heartbreak. We have seen war movies and documentaries in which human beings are mowed down like blades of grass. The war comparison made Biden’s position more persuasive. That’s why Biden instantly gave the statistic a human face: “moms, dads, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, grandparents.”

When Republican politicians speak, they often tell stories. Stories don’t always prove much, but a good one can move audiences to tears. Democrats, who tend to think functionally rather than emotionally, often pump piles of numbers out to their audiences. When they do that, however, they overlook how important it is to show the humanity behind their numbers. Using a simple public speaking technique, one found in any good speech textbook, Biden encouraged his audience to think about the pandemic in human terms.

Read: Start and End Speeches with a Story

Although the press rightly emphasized Biden’s announcement that the United States would give half a billion doses of coronavirus vaccine to Third World nations, we must never overlook the immediate importance of how a speaker conveys points. It’s critical to make points in a way that helps the audience understand why policies make a difference.


P.S. I need to say it again. Congress’ attempt to pass basic, obviously-needed legislation has once again stalled. The president’s Number One Power is neither his command of the armed forces nor his administrative control of the federal bureaucracy. No, his Number One Power comes from what Theodore Roosevelt called “the bully pulpit.” The President of the United States can bypass Congress and give speeches directly to the people. If he can sway more American voters toward his agenda, recalcitrant members of Congress, who are spineless almost by definition, will start doing their jobs. If Biden wants to pass his agenda, he needs to flood the airwaves with speeches.

My chapter in Before the Rhetorical Presidency, edited by my late graduate school classmate Marty Medhurst, shows how President William McKinley (a couple years before Teddy Roosevelt!) used the bully pulpit to sell a controversial international treaty. Available for sale, or to read in most large research libraries. For more about McKinley's successful speaking tours, see my paper "With No Blot or Stain;" click William D. Harpine's Publications above and scroll to the bottom. 

Cancel Culture Gone Amok: Governor Brian Kemp Was Shouted Down by His Own People

Gov. Brian Kemp, Official Photo

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, a conservative Republican, was almost booed off the stage when he spoke yesterday at the Georgia Republican Party’s state convention, held at a resort on one of the state’s beautiful coastal islands.

He was booed by his own people. This signifies a radical turn toward increasing political polarization. Polarization means that you have fewer supporters, but your supporters are more fanatical. Absolute loyalty to Trump is becoming a Republican Party requirement. 

I have written earlier about terrible instances in which conservative rabble-rousers have chased liberal speakers off the stage, or liberals have shouted conservative speakers off the stage. What happened yesterday was different. Brian Kemp is a radical conservative whose policy positions should satisfy anyone who opposes abortion, government-financed health care, or basic pandemic precautions. Indeed, he got his biggest cheers when he reminded the audience that Georgia was the first state to reopen during the pandemic.

Earlier Post: Liberals Shouted Down Milo Yiannopoulos

Earlier Post: Milo Yiannopoulos Helped to Shout Down a Liberal Speaker

Kemp, however, made one enormous political mistake. He honestly certified the obviously accurate election results that gave Georgia’s electoral votes to Joe Biden. We all know that former President Donald Trump and his supporters have constantly and wrongly accused Georgia of mis-counting the votes. Trump’s false claim that he won the election has become the test for loyal Republicans across the country. 

During his speech, Kemp reminded his noisy audience about Georgia’s restrictive abortion laws. “We passed heartbeat legislation,” he explained. But a heckler immediately shouted, “Boo! What about the voting machines?” He reminded the crowd that he opposed critical race theory and vaccine passports. That kind of ignorance should have pleased them. Apparently it didn’t.

Kemp’s failure – his inability even to be heard at his own convention – tells us several things about Georgia’s Republican leadership:

First, it’s not all about the issues. Kemp reminded the crowd that he was rabidly conservative on every possible issue. So what? It seems that, to many in the Georgia Republican Party’s leadership today, it is all about Trump – and nothing else. If you are not 100% pro-Trump, nothing else matters.

Second, the Republican Party is becoming a house divided, a party polarized within itself. It’s not just that Republicans are polarized against Democrats. Moderate Republicans are polarized from conservative Republicans. Republicans like Kemp, who are conservative but even marginally honest, are polarized from Trump Republicans. For example, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who is running for re-election, wasn't even invited to the convention. Instead, appallingly, the convention censured him for certifying the 2020 election. 

The people who attended the Republican state convention were, pretty much by definition, the most dedicated party loyalists. They were not necessarily typical of all Republican voters. They were, however, the leadership. Photographs and video showed that the crowd was almost all-white and coronavirus masks were nowhere to be seen. And, although the audience included many Kemp supporters, they could not control the pro-Trump fanatics.

Earlier Post: Trump and the Maskless Crowd  

It didn't help that Trump has been roundly condemning Kemp every chance he gets. Some conventioneers cheered Kemp even as others booed him. Will Kemp's political career survive the onslaught? Time will tell. 

Polarization is a standard tactic of radical rhetoric. The idea is that you will have fewer supporters, but your supporters will be more dedicated. As the Republican Party systematically expels all but its most radical members, it also shrinks its voting base. Thus, it might lose any honest election. The booing crowd’s entire point was that they didn’t want an honest election. They seemed to feel that it was the governor’s job to certify a Trump victory regardless of the actual votes. Kemp explained to the crowd that the law and the Constitution required him to certify the votes. That misses the point. The conventioneers who booed Kemp showed no concern about either the law or the Constitution.

A polarized minority of the electorate cannot persuade a majority of the voters. However, many in the crowd rejected Kemp because their main goal, at this point, was to prevent honest election counting. And that, dear readers, is how a polarized minority can win elections.

No one can dispute Kemp’s conservative credentials. His conservative credentials made no difference. The anti-Kemp crowd at Jekyll Island wasn’t thinking about issues. They were thinking about power.


Earlier Post: Trump's Polarizing Rally in Kentucky: It's All About Getting People to Vote 


Technical note: the best source for people who want to understand radical rhetoric is still The Rhetoric of Agitation and Control by Bowers, Ochs, and Schulz. 

Chapter 4 of my book about the 1896 presidential campaign shows how the Democratic candidate's radical rhetoric helped him win the nomination but doomed him in the general election. Could the same happen to Republicans in upcoming elections? I would not be surprised.