Some of you are waking up today and asking, “What is Juneteenth?”
At midnight, a holiday that has been recognized for decades, officially become a national phenomenon. And that’s no thanks to our current President at all.
No. If anything, the new national interest of the holiday has more to do with protests than anything. However it came, Juneteenth is deserving of all the light.
Also known as “Freedom Day,” June 19th, 1865 was the day that slaves became officially emancipated. This was two years after Abraham Lincoln delivered his now-famous speech.
I know that sounds crazy, but trust me, this is real. Now, the story about why it took so long to be recognized is even more bizarre.
As the story goes, it was on June 19th 1865 when Union Major General Gordon Granger arrived in the city of Galveston Texas with news that the slaves were free!
This news came to Texas exactly 2-years after Lincoln gave the emancipation proclamation.
There have been multiple reports as to why the news took so long to get to Texas. Everything from the person tasked to share the news was murdered down to the outright stubbornness of the slave owners at the time.
Whatever the reason, by the time General Lee surrendered in 1865, Granger and Union troops entered the state bringing enough manpower to, convince, slave owners in the state that their time was up.
Major General Granger would read to the slaves what would go on to be called General Order Number 3. It 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 rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired laborer.”
After the news, slaves would leave plantations. Some would move North, others would stay close in the area.
Wherever they would go, they would recall the day the heard the news that they were no longer obligated to work for someone for free. Wherever those former slaves would move to, they would bring news of June 19th.
Celebrations surrounding the date go back to 1866.
At first involving church-centered community gatherings in Texas. It spread across the South and became more commercialized in the 1920s and 1930s, often centering on a food festival.
Celebrating Juneteenth fell out of favor they say in during the civil rights movement.
It returned to popularity in the 70’s similar to how it did today thanks to protests and calls for “Black Power” and “Black Pride.”
Some Juneteenth traditions included public readings of the Emancipation Proclamation, singing traditional songs such as “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” and “Lift Every Voice and Sing“.
Celebrations include rodeos, street fairs, cookouts, family reunions, park parties, historical reenactments, and Miss Juneteenth contests.
In the 1970s, the great state of Texas recognized its place in Black history by making Juneteenth a state holiday.
In 1996 the first legislation to recognize “Juneteenth Independence Day” was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives.
So, today might seem like something new for you, but’s a timed honored holiday and day to remember for many for over a 150-years. So enjoy your day and remember why you’re celebrating.
