On June 19, 1865, two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation, slaves in Texas were finally freed. Juneteenth, the anniversary of that event, gives America a formal moment to recognize all the emancipation that still hasn’t happened, a century and a half later. Millions across the world remind us that black Americans are not free from fear of police, not free of public or private racism, not free to start a business or buy a home or even vote the way white Americans are.

Humanity has barely begun to meet our many pressing challenges: racism, pandemics, overpopulation, poverty, tyranny, pollution, war, nuclear proliferation, climate change. We must not be discouraged. Centuries of struggle against cruelty, self-interest, and short-sightedness might be starting to turn the tide. Recent events prove the following principles:

Protests work. They changed the culture in the 1960s, and they are changing the culture now. A strong majority of the American public finally acknowledges that racism is a terrible and enduring problem. Police who killed unarmed black people are facing murder charges. Racist symbols from statues to cereals are going down. Many cities and states seem ready to move funds from police departments to mental health services, education, and housing. So far, these are small victories, but they have momentum.

Sustained pressure works. Years of public education and lobbying have even reached the Supreme Court. Two very conservative judges voted with the majority to give LGBTQ people the right to be free of workplace discrimination, and to stop Trump’s effort to deport the young “Dreamers” protected by DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals). These are both major victories. They reward many years of committed activism.

Science works. Scientists told us this would happen: in states and countries where almost everyone wears a mask outside the home, COVID-19 infection rates are falling steeply. Where people refuse to take this elementary precaution, the virus is spreading by leaps and bounds. Science also gives us new ways of getting energy without burning fossil fuels, and tells us what will happen if we don’t use them. Science allows women to control reproduction; politics too often won’t let them, leaving many women in desperate situations. The moral here is, when politicians and scientists disagree, listen to science.

Voting works. Protests and science can only do so much. In the end, we get what we vote for. If all the people who believe in one person, one vote, had actually voted, we’d have gotten rid of the Electoral College by now. The Senate would be representative instead of giving lopsided power to the old slave states regardless of population. If more of us voted, we’d have gotten Gore instead of George W, Clinton instead of Trump. Trump detained 70,000 immigrant children last year, and since then has destroyed our economy, done his best to ruin the environment, and cost hundreds of thousands of American lives. This November, we have a chance to vote that evil, lying, cynical schmuck out of office. That would be the biggest victory in a long, long time.