History and Celebration of Juneteenth

Juneteenth is a historic day in United States history as it recognizes and commemorates the official emancipation of slavery in specific former confederate states. It is also considered the real Independence Day for Black Americans.

On June 19th, 1865, enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas, were informed that the Civil War had ended, and they were free. However, the Emancipation Proclamation issued by President Abraham Lincoln was issued two and a half years before they were informed of their freedom.

The story often told is that the messenger who was to deliver the official emancipation to Texas was murdered; however, it is integral to remember that the Emancipation Proclamation did not emancipate slaves within every state. Confederate states outwardly rejected claims of emancipation, and the nation was still divided during the Reconstruction period. Confederate states had been displeased with the outcome of the war and did not recognize or accept emancipation quickly. There was still an incredibly small number of Union troops stationed in Texas to enforce the Executive Order on emancipation. These factors were puzzle pieces to the greater picture of keeping the message of freedom away from enslaved people. However, arguably the largest reason as to why the message of the Executive Order was not implemented was because former confederate states had deliberately withheld the information from the enslaved to maintain their plantations.

When Major General Gordon Granger did finally issue General Order, Number 3 in Galveston Texas, it wasn’t an instant freedom. Texas slave owners had to figure out when and how they were going to release the news. Many of them waited for the government agency to come, and many government agents waited until after the harvest to arrive. Newly freed people still faced a number of horrific struggles even with emancipation officiated. Freed people were still lynched, they were left with little to no education, no resources, and almost no way of making an income to survive. Although freed, the majority had no other choice but to stay on the plantation in which they came from as tenant farmers. The Freedmen’s Bureau, also delayed in their arrival to Texas till September of 1865, was a milestone of promoting opportunity to the newly freed people of former confederate states. There was immense hardship that surrounded Juneteenth, but the day was and still is a day to celebrate and commemorate “one of the most inspiring grassroots efforts of the post-Civil War period” according to Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Freedpeople had “transformed June 19 from a day of unheeded military orders into their own annual rite…” The official colors of Juneteenth Day are those of our United States flag, to symbolize that the enslaved people and their descendants were truly and always American.

One hundred and fifty-five years later, Juneteenth has become more than just a celebration. Mark Anthony Neal, an African-American studies scholar at Duke University explained that “Juneteenth feels a little different now… It is an opportunity for folks to kind of catch their breath about what has been this incredible pace of change and shifting that we’ve seen over the last couple of weeks.”

Traditionally Juneteenth is celebrated with social gatherings, barbecues, sports games, parades, prayer services, and much more. Nevertheless, Juneteenth has always really been about education, self-exploration, and moving forward by learning from the past.