In an effort to provide information and increase awareness about the importance of the Juneteenth holiday and its relevance to all Americans, the Kewanee Commission on Human Relations released five facts about the federal holiday that will hopefully answer some questions that people may have.
Why is Juneteenth a holiday, and why should it be celebrated?
Juneteenth (short for “June Nineteenth”) marks the annual holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States and has been celebrated by many African Americans since the late 1800s. It is also known as Emancipation Day, Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Juneteenth Independence Day, and Black Independence Day.
Most people believe the Emancipation Proclamation freed the slaves and ended slavery in our country, but what were some of the limitations?
On January 1, 1863, President Lincoln issued Proclamation 95, the Emancipation Proclamation. The Proclamation declared “that all persons held as slaves within the rebellious states are, and thenceforward shall be free” The Emancipation Proclamation didn’t free all slaves in the United States. It applied only to slaves living in states not under Union control or the Confederate states. They were South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina. Many slave owners moved to Texas, because they saw it as a safe haven for slavery. There wasn’t a significant number of Union troops therefore slavery continued.
If the Emancipation Proclamation didn’t totally free the slaves and end slavery, how did they get their freedom?
Freedom finally came on June 19,1865, when the U.S. General Gordon Granger and some 2,000 union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas. He announced General Order No. 3, “The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.” That signaled freedom for Texas’s 250,000 enslaved people. Some slave owners still withheld this information until after harvest season.
On December 6, 1865, slavery in the United States was abolished when the necessary number of states ratified the 13th Amendment. Section 1 of the 13th Amendment outlaws chattel slavery and involuntary servitude (except as punishment for a crime). Section 2 gives Congress the power “to enforce this article by appropriate legislation”. Congress required the former Confederate states to ratify the 13th Amendment in order to regain representation in the federal government.
The following year Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866. This law invalidated the “Black Codes”. These were laws the former Confederate states used to keep the former slave’s dependent on their owners. The 14th Amendment, adopted in 1868, “barred states from denying equal protection of the laws”. The 15th Amendment, ratified in 1870, “prevents the denial of a citizen’s vote based on race, color or previous condition of servitude.”
When did Juneteenth become a federal holiday?
In 1980, Texas became the first state to designate Juneteenth as a holiday. Today, all 50 states and the District of Columbia recognize Juneteenth as a holiday or observance, and at least 22 states and the District of Columbia have designated Juneteenth as a permanent paid and/or legal holiday through legislation or executive action. Since there was so much unrest in our country in recent years, there was a renewed interest in the day that celebrates freedom. The bill was passed by the Senate on June 15, 2021, to recognize Juneteenth and the House approved the measure the next day. President Biden signed the bill into law on June 17, 2021, and it became the 11th holiday recognized by the federal government, immediately giving federal employees the day off on an annual basis.
How was Juneteenth celebrated in the past and how is it celebrated today?
Men and women who had been enslaved, and their descendants, would make annual pilgrimages back to Galveston, TX. In 1872, a group of African American ministers and businessmen in Houston purchased 10 acres of land and created Emancipation Park, a place intended to hold the city’s annual Juneteenth celebration. The day is also celebrated by prayer and religious services, speeches, educational events, family gatherings, picnics, and festivals with food, music, and dancing.
In 2021, the city of Galveston dedicated a 5,000 square-foot mural, entitled “Absolute Equality,” on the spot where General Granger informed enslaved African Americans of their freedom. In 2023 Galveston will celebrate the holiday with a banquet, a scholarship ball and a festival. Organizers in Atlanta will hold a parade and music festival at Centennial Olympic Park, and similar events are scheduled in Brooklyn, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Tulsa, Okla.
The information was provided by the Kewanee Commission on Huma Relations. More information can be found here and here.
