Guest essay: What Juneteenth means to me

In honor of Juneteenth National Independence Day, we’re thrilled to share personal remarks around this momentous day from one of our valued employees. Timothy Kincaide, AKA Tim, is a Major Account Executive in CareerBuilder’s staffing and recruitment division, where he manages, retains, and grows existing business and works with new business prospects. He is also a member of CareerBuilder’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee. Born in Brooklyn, Illinois, (the first all African-American village established in the United States), Tim lives in the Chicago area with his wife Nicole and six-month-old daughter Trinity.

Tim, who’s been with CareerBuilder for three years, says, “My role is the perfect match for my personality because I am all about relationship building and I have a very nurturing spirit. I look forward to many more years here, and my end goal is to become a senior leader; it all starts with stepping up and demonstrating that I have the ability to lead.”

When Tim isn’t helping his clients and doting on his family, he enjoys spending time with friends and extended family as well as creating gospel music. With a passion for encouraging people and imbuing those around him with hope, Tim is also interested in using his gifts as a motivational speaker.

Here, he shares what Juneteenth means to him today and every day.

What does Juneteenth mean to me? When I think of Juneteenth, I think of many things. First, I think of how rules can either be abided by or broken. Regarding Juneteenth, there were several states that took it upon themselves to keep slavery legal after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, sealed, and delivered. As I think about that with regard to where Black Americans are today, it reminds me that we must continue to fight for real freedom, liberty, justice, and equality – for all.

Although the fight for freedom continues, I believe there is HOPE. Hope that motivates us to continue the journey toward freedom. Hope that gives us the desire to love. Hope that allows us to have faith and trust in God to deliver us. Hope that will never die as long as we keep It alive!

Celebrating Juneteenth and honoring this day is a great reminder that we must never give up the fight no matter what or who is on the opposing side. Our great nation was built on the backs of the same community of people who are still here today fighting for what should be theirs.

CareerBuilder has taken a stance to ensure there is equality within our organization. Following the horrific murder of our dear brother George Floyd, our great leaders at CareerBuilder took immediate action by making Juneteenth an official holiday at our company before our government decided to make it a federal holiday. That showed a lot of character and was greatly appreciated. That we at CareerBuilder embrace diversity and are making great efforts to build a community where everyone is represented and respected will not go unnoticed.

On this day, let us all be grateful for our lives while also taking time to remember that our nation needs healing. The fight for freedom, justice, and equality must go on!