Today is Juneteenth, in its first year as an official US Holiday. In honor of that, and that today also marks my 101st blog post, I’d like to dig into the history and meaning of the day. This is as much for me as it is for you – I’m gathering what I learn and sharing it, admittedly uneducated on the importance and gravity of the day.
Brief History
Despite the Emancipation Proclamation being issued on January 1, 1863, it didn’t immediately free all enslaved people. It only applied to those under Confederate control. It took the advancement of Union troops into the South for the slaves’ freedom to slowly be realized.
Texas was last. It took until June 19, 1865 for news to reach the state. On this day, General Gordon Granger read General Orders No. 3 which states:
“The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor. The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.”
Now
Just two days ago, on June 17, 2021, Juneteenth became an official US Holiday. Previously, it has been celebrated on different days in different places, never quite getting the attention and unity it deserves, but with the historic black murders in 2020, 25 million people marching in protest, demanding an end to police brutality and systemic racism, the push for a federal holiday was finally realized.
While creating a holiday doesn’t solve all, it does create a point of entry for conversation and further, united action. It gives us pause to go learn about what the day is, the history, the meaning, and the future.
As Vice President Harris said just two days ago, “Let’s be clear about what happened on June 19, 1865. The day we call Juneteenth. Because you see, that day was not the end of slavery in America,” she told lawmakers and advocates who have long pushed for the federal recognition. “On that day, the enslaved people of Galveston, Texas learned that they were free ….”
Setting people free wasn’t the end of inequality, but rather the beginning of creating equality. There is still so much work to be done.
Every year we must remind successive generations that this event triggered a series of events that one by one defines the challenges and responsibilities of successive generations. That’s why we need this holiday.
– Al Edwards, Texas Democratic Representative
Struggle is a never ending process. Freedom is never really won, you earn it and win it in every generation.
– Coretta Scott King
If the cruelties of slavery could not stop us, the opposition we now face will surely fail. Because the goal of America is freedom, abused and scorned tho’ we may be, our destiny is tied up with America’s destiny.
– Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
It isn’t enough to hang a Black Lives Matter poster in the window. Performative allyship serves no one – not even the self.
Engage
Emmanuel Acho a great place to start. Also, Ibram X. Kendi. (These are my two current focuses.) Brené Brown’s “Unlocking Us” podcast has multiple guest episodes that are extraordinary for learning and understanding – bravo to you B.B. for not just launching the conversations but extending them deep and wide.
Now I’ve been free, I know what a dreadful condition slavery is. I have seen hundreds of escaped slaves, but I never saw one who was willing to go back and be a slave.
– Harriet Tubman
How much did you know about Juneteenth? I’m challenging you to share this post and launch a conversation about it with someone today. Research more history. Read a book. Educate your kids. And, above all, engage.
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