Juneteenth Explained

I went my entire life into adulthood before I ever even heard of Juneteenth, and it’s no wonder since it was not recognized in my home state of Michigan until 2005. So if you have never heard of this holiday, you are not alone. It is one, however, that I do think everyone should learn about, so I am going to do my part by sharing what I have learned from reading up on it.

What is it?

Juneteenth is the celebration of the official end of slavery. On June 19, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas and issued Order Number 3, emancipating the remaining enslaved African Americans. Even though many African Americans in Texas still were not granted their freedom from slave owners who did not acknowledge it, in some cases for several more years, the first Juneteenth was celebrated the very next year on June 19, 1866. It is also known as Jubilee Day, Emancipation Day, Freedom Day, and Black Independence Day.

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“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 personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor. The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.”

General Orders, Number 3; Headquarters District of Texas, Galveston, June 19, 1865

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How is it celebrated?

Upon first hearing the news of the emancipation, a former slave recounted that gun powder was blasted from holes in trees in celebration in Elizabeth Hayes Turner’s essay, “Juneteenth: Emancipation and Memory,” in Lone Star Pasts: Memory and History in Texas.

After that, freedmen gathered together every June 19 for readings of the Emancipation Proclamation, to attend church services, and to have barbecues. When whites prohibited them from gathering in public places, they gathered by lakes and rivers until they raised enough money to buy land to hold their Juneteenth celebrations, $800 for Emancipation Park in what is now Houston. Land was also bought to create Booker T. Washington Park in Mexia for this purpose.

Over the years, more activities were integrated into Juneteenth celebrations such as stock car racing, rodeos, baseball, and even flyovers, and attendees began dressing in their finest clothes in defiance of white criticism of the celebrants. Today, people celebrate with cookouts and parades.

Where is it celebrated?

Originally, it was only celebrated in Texas, the last place that the news of the emancipation arrived. However, the celebration was taken to other states with families as they migrated out of Texas. As it spread, it became more sophisticated with the times.

Juneteenth greatly expanded beginning in 1968 after Martin Luther King’s assassination, when the organizers who attempted to carry out his Poor People’s March on Washington ended it early on June 19 and took the idea of the celebration back to their home communities. Then in 1980, under the leadership of Rep. Al Edwards, also known as “the father of the Juneteenth holiday,” Texas became the first state to make ‘Emancipation Day in Texas’ a state holiday. Today, it is a legal state holiday or observance in 47 states, and the District of Columbia. It has also been celebrated around the world in Guam, and in countries such as France, Ghana, Israel, South Korea, and Taiwan.

Why is it celebrated?

Donald Trump’s decision to hold a campaign rally on June 19 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where the deadliest attack of violence against Blacks took place, has brought Juneteenth into the national spotlight. Even with its 155-year history, Juneteenth is still relevant today as systemic racism continues to exist in this country’s institutions. There is now a push for it to become a federal holiday. The original purpose of Juneteenth was to celebrate the end of slavery. Now it is also used to speak out against modern day slavery.

For more information about Juneteenth, please see Juneteenth.com and NationalJuneteenth.com. For information about how you can help end modern day slavery, please see End Slavery Now.

Please feel free to share your thoughts about or experiences celebrating Juneteenth below.