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Home > News > Blog > What is June 19th or “Juneteenth” and why is it so
important?


WHAT IS JUNE 19TH OR “JUNETEENTH” AND WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT?

06.17.21
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June 19th or “Juneteenth” is a very important day in African American history.
Juneteenth, or “Freedom Day” is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration
of the ending of slavery in the United States.

This holiday is considered the “longest running African-American holiday” and
has been called “America’s second Independence Day.” It was on June 19, 1865
that Union soldiers, led by Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger, landed in Galveston, Texas
with news that the war had ended and that all slaves were free.

On June 15, 2021, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved the bill that makes
Juneteenth a legal public holiday. The measure is expected to be approved by the
Democratic-led House of Representatives as well, but the timing is unclear.

“Making Juneteenth a federal holiday is a major step forward to recognize the
wrongs of the past,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a
statement, “but we must continue to work to ensure equal justice and fulfill the
promise of the Emancipation Proclamation and our Constitution.”

Please note that this was 2 ½ years after President Lincoln signed the
Emancipation Proclamation, which become official on January 1, 1863. The
Emancipation Proclamation had little impact on Texans for several reasons.

First, there was a minimal number of Union troops available to enforce the new
executive order in Texas and there were large crops that needed labor to harvest
them. When Gen. Lee surrendered in April 1865, and the general’s regiment
arrived where the forces were strong enough to influence and overcome the
resistance of white slave owners. Just think – took 2 ½ years after the
Emancipation Proclamation for ALL slaves to finally be free! That was cause for
celebration and jubilation!

Realizing that they were finally free, many African Americans went north to
“true freedom” while others desired to connect with their family members in
neighboring states like Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma to settle down. The
celebration of June 19th was coined “Juneteenth” and grew with more
participation from descendants.

The Juneteenth celebration was a time for reassuring each other, praying and for
gathering remaining family members together. Juneteenth continued to be highly
revered in Texas decades later, with many former slaves and descendants making
an annual pilgrimage back to Galveston on this date.

In the early years, little interest existed outside the African American
community in participation in the celebrations. In some cases, there was outward
resistance by barring the use of public property for the festivities.

Since African Americans were often prohibited from using public facilities for
their celebrations, they often held their annual celebrations at their churches
or out in rural areas around rivers and creeks that could provide for additional
activities such as fishing, horseback riding and barbecues.

“Eventually, as African Americans became landowners, land was donated and
dedicated for these festivities.

One of the earliest documented land purchases in the name of Juneteenth was
organized by Rev. Jack Yates. This fund-raising effort yielded $1,000 and the
purchase of Emancipation Park in Houston. In Mexica, the local Juneteenth
organization purchased Booker T. Washington Park, which had become the
Juneteenth celebration site in 1898.

There are accounts of Juneteenth activities being interrupted and halted by
white landowners demanding that their laborers return to work. However, it seems
most allowed their workers the day off and some even made donations of food and
money. For decades these annual celebrations flourished, growing continuously
with each passing year. In Booker T. Washington Park, as many as 20,000 African
Americans once flowed through during a week, making the celebration one of the
state’s largest.”

On January 1, 1980, Juneteenth became an official state holiday in Texas through
the efforts of Al Edwards, an African American state legislator. The successful
passage of this bill marked Juneteenth as the first emancipation celebration
granted official state recognition. Edwards has since actively sought to spread
the observance of Juneteenth all across America.”

In 1996 the first legislation to recognize “Juneteenth Independence Day” was
introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, H.J. Res. 195, sponsored by
Barbara-Rose Collins (D-MI). In 1997, Congress recognized the day through Senate
Joint Resolution 11 and House Joint Resolution 56. In 2013 the U.S. Senate
passed Senate Resolution 175, acknowledging Lula Briggs Galloway (late president
of the National Association of Juneteenth Lineage) who “successfully worked to
bring national recognition to Juneteenth Independence Day,” and the continued
leadership of the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation.

By 2002, eight states officially recognized Juneteenth and by 2006, 15 states
recognized Juneteenth as a holiday. By 2008, nearly half of U.S. states observed
the holiday as a ceremonial observance. In total, 47 of the 50 U.S. states and
the District of Columbia recognize Juneteenth as either a state holiday or
ceremonial holiday, a day of observance. The three states that do not recognize
Juneteenth are Hawaii, North Dakota and South Dakota.

“In 2016, at the age of 89, former teacher and lifelong activist Opal Lee walked
1,400 miles from her home in Fort Worth, Texas, to Washington, D.C., in an
effort to get Juneteenth recognized as a national holiday.

Two years later, the U.S. Senate passed a resolution recognizing the holiday,
which originated in Galveston, Texas, and honors the June 19 anniversary of the
announcement by Union Army General Gordon Granger proclaiming freedom from
slavery in Texas.

Though the day is now celebrated annually throughout the United States, Ms. Opal
does not consider her work complete: “We have simply got to make people aware
that none of us are free until we’re all free, and we aren’t free yet,” she told
the New York Times last June.”

Juneteenth not only celebrates the freedom of African Americans from slavery,
but it also is a time when our achievements are noted, and continuous
self-development is encouraged. We dress with pride to show our spirit,
sometimes in African garments. This day of national pride is celebrated with
food, music, games, and other activities to promote cultural awareness and
community cohesiveness. Memories have been created and shared for passing down
to generations.

Last year, I looked forward to celebrating Juneteenth in Washington, DC.
Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 their Juneteenth Festival and Community Learning
events “will not go forward as planned.” I am sure that the lives of George
Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner, Freddie Gray, Sandra Bland Tamir Rice,
Ahmaud Arbery and countless other Blacks who have been killed at the hands of
the police were remembered and celebrated. There are several events taking place
this year. You can see what events are happening in Washington, DC,

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. We need
to tell the story about Tulsa, Oklahoma. Look forward to the next blog!

I remember seeing the exhibit in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African
American History and Culture. I learned that following World War I, Tulsa was
recognized nationally for its affluent African American community known as the
Greenwood District. This thriving business district and surrounding residential
area were referred to as “Black Wall Street.”

In June 1921, a series of events nearly destroyed the entire Greenwood area. A
white mob had destroyed this 35-block of Black businesses.

The number of deaths has never been confirmed but accounts say there were more
than 300 deaths. This is one of the reasons why it would be politically
incorrect to have a political rally on Juneteenth in Tulsa.

I am excited because, on Tuesday, June 16, 2020, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam
declared Juneteenth a paid state holiday!

This should be a time of celebration for Blacks everywhere. Please, let us keep
Juneteenth respected, revered and never forgotten! Our ancestors died for it,
were enslaved for an extra 2 ½ years for it and I’m sure they would agree.

We may not be able to have our big celebrations, picnics, barbeques and
festivities on Juneteenth (June 19, 2021) because of the pandemic restrictions,
but there are some important things that you can do on Juneteenth in the middle
of the pandemic:

 * Register to vote.
 * Contact elected officials to voice your concerns and advocate for change.
 * Complete the Census. Federal funding and representation are determined by the
   census taken every 10 years. Data from the census determines how hundreds of
   billions of federal dollars, also known as YOUR tax dollars, are dispersed
   each year to communities, schools, hospitals and roads.
 * Share resources.
 * Jury duty. While most people deem jury duty as an inconvenient and try to get
   out of their civic responsibility, black and brown jurors are important now
   more than ever. The United States has a long history of racial discrimination
   in jury selection. Black jurors influence outcomes. Research shows that
   having even one black juror changes a trial’s outcome and in some cases this
   is literally the one person to save or change a person’s life. Some studies
   have found that seating just one African American on the jury has reduced the
   rate of convictions for black defendants by ten percent.
 * Buy Black. Large companies have a history of oppressing small and black owned
   businesses and putting a heavy burden on low-income communities. By buying
   black, you are assisting in closing the racial wealth gap which in turn
   strengthens local economies and has a positive domino effect like the
   creation of more jobs.
 * Inter-generational conversations. Our community is hurting. It’s time to
   build better relationships and communication between younger and older
   adults. Conversation around what we can do together that we cannot do apart
   should be mindful, intentional and strategic. Be sure conversations
   acknowledge the shared problems but being mindful each of us have lived
   different experiences. While emotions may run high, the process must be
   purposeful to not only heal but to define systems of accountability.
 * Support those on the front lines. There is power in numbers. While you may
   not run to your local protest since there is still an active global pandemic,
   you can still use your voice socially and digitally to help support those on
   the front lines fighting the good fight.

Doreleena Sammons Hackett, SM

Reference: History of Juneteenth © JUNETEENTH.com

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