Juneteenth
On June 19th, 1865, General Gordon Granger led a column of Union soldiers into Galveston, Texas. They delivered the news that the war had ended and all enslaved people were free- on paper. In reality, slave owners in many states refused to honor the Emancipation Proclamation and instead waited for the end of one last harvest season or until they were forced to do so by government officials or Union soldiers.
President Lincoln announced his Emancipation Proclamation in September of 1962. The proclamation directed confederate states still in rebellion to rejoin the Union by January 1st, 1963, or their enslaved people would be considered free. President Lincoln signed the Proclamation on January 1st, but its impact was largely symbolic. The Confederate states were out of Lincoln’s control and it exempted slave states on the border of the Union and large parts of Union controlled Confederate states. The Emancipation Proclamation set the tone for the Union moving forward, however. President Lincoln and his allies in Congress started working on a constitutional amendment that would abolish slavery entirely. It passed in both houses of Congress and was ratified in December of 1865.
The word Juneteenth is a combination of “June” and “nineteenth.” On the first anniversary of General Granger delivering to Galveston, Texas the news that all enslaved people were free, Black Americans in Texas organized the first celebration of “Jubilee Day.” This holiday grew in Texas through the years and entailed a range of celebratory activities: a barbecue cookout, music, rodeos, fishing, baseball games, and prayer. Juneteenth celebrations frequently emphasize continuing education and self-improvement, in addition to passing stories down and the recounting of events to younger generations. As people moved to other parts of the United States, they brought the traditions with them and the holiday spread.
It might come as no surprise that it was historically difficult for Black Americans to celebrate Juneteenth. White people frequently forbade Black people to celebrate in public spaces. In some cases Black community leaders had to purchase land to secure for themselves a space to gather and celebrate. Two examples of this include Emancipation Park in Houston and Booker T. Washington Park in Mexia. In the ensuing decades, however, Juneteenth observance declined as Jim Crow laws that ensured Black Americans remained second-class citizens, violent lynchings, and white-washed history meant that celebrating their “freedom” rang a little hollow.
The civil rights movement in the late 60’s led to a resurgence of the Juneteenth tradition and in 1979 Texas declared June 19th an official holiday. Finally, in June of 2021, Congress passed a resolution that established Juneteenth as a national holiday and President Biden signed it into law the day after. That led to the biggest Juneteenth celebration as of yet, especially as it followed several unfortunate events that impacted the Black community and highlighted how much more work that needs to be done and the healing that needs to take place.