Though it has been 158 years since the first celebration of what became Juneteenth — June 19, 1865, after the order was read to inform Black slaves in Galveston, Texas, that they had been freed — too many still fail to understand the need not only to observe such a holiday, but to learn from it.

“This is the event our ancestors recognize as African American Independence Day,” reads the Juneteenth Ohio website. “The first act of freedom African Americans cherished as the opportunity to reunite with family members and to be self-determined as a people.”

Juneteenth Ohio celebrated with its two-day festival in Columbus over the weekend. What has become the third-largest Juneteenth event in the country is an “enjoyable family weekend of cultural discovery, filled with a variety of events promoting cultural unity, enrichment, and ethnic diversity, ‘key elements that improves the relationships and quality of life among all residents throughout Ohio,'” the organization says.

It is celebrated in an increasingly frightening educational atmosphere in which some lawmakers seek to keep our public school students from learning the truth about all of our state’s and nation’s history. There can be no good reason for wanting to keep our students in the dark about the path this country has taken. But their political stunts are all the more reason that Juneteenth should be not just a celebration, but an opportunity to teach our young people (and each other) about the victories we cheer, yes, but also about how very far we still have to go.