Perspective on Juneteenth
Junteenth is the oldest celebration of the end of slavery and America’s newest holiday, also known as “Freedom Day” or “Emancipation Day.” Juneteenth has been celebrated by Black people in America for generations and takes place annually on June 19. The holiday is a combination of the words “June” and “nineteenth.”
President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, as the nation approached the third year of the Civil War. But on June 19, 1865, two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, and just two months after Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered, with the Union Army winning the war, Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, to take control. He issued General Order No. 3 to inform enslaved people that they were free and that the Civil War was officially over. This is why we celebrate Juneteenth, because it honors the day all of the enslaved were made aware of the Emancipation Proclamation and were officially legally released from their bonds.
Later that same year, in December 1865, the ratification of the 13th Amendment formally abolished slavery in the United States.
Putting it into perspective: The United States of America will be 236 years old this July 4, 2023. The enslavement of Black people on American soil was legal for 246 years, longer than the United States has been a nation. Slavery in America ended just 158 years ago, with an additional 89 years of legal segregation under “Jim Crow” laws.
