🆓 Juneteenth 🆓

Many people do not understand or know what Juneteenth is. Juneteenth is a holiday celebrated on June 19th that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. Across the country, the day is marked with events and parades. Juneteenth, also known as Juneteenth Independence Day or Freedom Day, is an American holiday that commemorates the June 19, 1865, announcement of the abolition of slavery in the U.S. state of Texas, and more generally the emancipation of enslaved blacks throughout the former Confederacy of the southern United States.

Didn’t the Emancipation Proclamation end slavery years earlier?
Yes and No. Abraham Lincoln made slavery illegal with the Emancipation Proclamation on Sept. 22, 1862, which became federal law on Jan. 1, 1863. However, it took nearly two-and-half years for that message to be relayed to Texas.

How did Juneteenth begin?
On June 19, 1865, Major Gen. Gordon Granger came to Galveston, Texas, to inform a reluctant community that President Abraham Lincoln two years earlier had freed the slaves and to press locals to comply with his directive. On this day, Granger announced “General Order No. 3.”

Prior to Granger’s declaration, there was an estimated 250,000 slaves residing in Texas, according to historian Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

What caused the delay in Texans receiving this news?
Some have noted that Texas geographic isolation may have played a role in the delay. According to Juneteenth.com, some accounts place the delay on a messenger who was murdered on his way to Texas with the news, while others say the news was deliberately withheld.

Even with the order, slavery did not end in Texas overnight, according to a report by Gates. Many slave owners traveled to Texas with their slaves to escape regulations enforced by the Union Army in other states for some time.

The Emancipation Proclamation had little impact on the Texans due to the minimal number of Union troops to enforce the new Executive Order. However, with the surrender of General Lee in April of 1865, and the arrival of General Granger’s regiment, the forces were finally strong enough to influence and overcome the resistance.

General Order Number 3

One of General Granger’s first orders of business was to read to the people of Texas, General Order Number 3 which began most significantly with:

"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 free laborer."

How is Juneteenth typically celebrated?

A range of activities were provided to entertain the masses, many of which continue in tradition today. Rodeos, fishing, barbecuing and baseball are just a few of the typical Juneteenth activities you may witness today. Juneteenth almost always focused on education and self improvement. Thus, often guest speakers are brought in and the elders are called upon to recount the events of the past. Prayer services were also a major part of these celebrations.

#Staywoke

Signing out

Big Sister On Point aka Destiny Joffer-Davis MD