Introduction: Dr. Aitza Haddad Nunez who spoke at PTFW’s 2025 International Day Conference recently shared a post in celebration of Juneteenth. In it she writes about developing a broader understanding of this important celebration and an awareness that the story of Caribbean and Latin American slavery is largely missing from mainstream historical accounts. Her post even inspired me to do a little research of my own and I learned that The Haitian Revolution, which began in 1791, led to the country’s independence from France in 1804 and made Haiti the first independent nation in the Americas to permanently ban slavery. 

I found the post to be powerful, illuminating and also very sad to learn that history failed to capture the story of so many. PTFW’s tagline is, “Be seen. Be heard. Inspire.”  As a nonprofit, our organization truly believes that individuals, communities, countries and our world are stronger and healthier when every voice is heard.  With that in mind, I reached out to Dr. Haddad Nunez who shares her post below.

Happy Juneteenth!

As a Puerto Rican, I didn’t fully understand the significance of Juneteenth or the broader African diaspora’s history until I was working on my PhD at Howard University. That place changed my life for the better — but it also opened my eyes to how absent Caribbean and Latin American slavery history and experiences are from mainstream narratives.

I remember vividly studying Paul Gilroy’s The Black Atlantic and feeling frustrated, even angry, that my own history—the history I learned growing up—was missing. The story of my island, Puerto Rico, often called La Llave de las Antillas because of its strategic role in the Atlantic, was invisible in those conversations.

I stood up and spoke out. Since then, speaking up has been my version of “good trouble.” It means making people uncomfortable — because sometimes discomfort is what it takes to dismantle what has been strategically and systematically taught to uphold the status quo.

Puerto Rico’s history, like that of many other Caribbean and Latin American places, has been erased — erased from our own memories and from the world’s understanding. We need to speak up. We need to connect the dots between our stories because these invisible ties are what truly keep humanity human.

This Juneteenth, I honor the legacy of resistance and resilience — and recommit to the work of making our histories visible and valued.