Juneteenth is one of the most important days in American history.
It’s about Black freedom. It’s about emancipation. It’s about America finally abolishing one of its greatest sins—slavery.
There are so many people who only know today as June 19 — an otherwise ordinary day — despite it being anything but ordinary.
But, for the first time, it’s hard not to notice Juneteenth today. It’s trending across social media sites and search engines, but there’s still a lot of confusion surrounding what Juneteenth is and why it carries such historical significance.
For those wanting more information on the importance of this day, here’s an explainer to get you up to speed.
What is Juneteenth?
On June 19, 1865, Union Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas, and told slaves they were emancipated from slavery. Those slaves were the last to be notified of the official abolition of slavery.
Lacking a formal holiday to commemorate the end of slavery, over time, June 19 has been celebrated as Juneteenth.
But, wait, wasn’t the emancipation proclamation in 1863?
Yes, it was. Abraham Lincoln officially signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, which declared “that all persons held as slaves” within the Confederate states “are, and henceforward shall be free.”
Still, the Proclamation didn’t immediately free slaves across the country. The Civil War raged for another two years, and then, even once the war was over in 1865, it took another two months after Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered for those 250,000 slaves in Texas — the furthest U.S. state at the time—to be notified that they were freed.
This animated short from the television show Black-ish offers a pretty short explainer on that.
Wow, that seems big. Why didn’t I know about this?
Well, because this day has never really been acknowledged or celebrated in the ways that it should.
For starters, it’s not even recognized as an official federal holiday in America. Texas, New York and Virginia recognize the day as an official state holiday.
However, Texas only acknowledged the day more than a century later in 1980. Virginia and New York just began to this year. Other than that, most states recognize the day but not as a holiday like they do with, say, the 4th of July or even Columbus day.
On top of that, it’s not required teaching in education curriculums across the country. A lot of folks just simply never learned about Juneteenth just like they’ve never learned about 1921’s Tulsa massacre in Oklahoma or 1985’s HOME bombings by police in Philadelphia. This is generally omitted history, and it’s a shame.
That’s why Juneteenth has largely only been celebrated in Black communities across the country for 155 years.
That means today’s celebration is super important, right?
Right. Celebrating and acknowledging Juneteenth is always important, but it’s especially important today because of the moment we’re living in.
People are still protesting across the country because of the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers. People are angry. They’re pushing hard for change.
Juneteenth serves as a celebration of Black freedom and emancipation, but today it also serves as a message.
Black advancement and justice have always been delayed or outright denied in America. Even Juneteenth came late. And even after that, Black Codes upheld the tenets of slavery for years after it was abolished.
Fast forward 155 years later and Black people are still under attack in America. Today’s Juneteenth celebration sends a message to the powers that be in this nation that there’s no more skating over this country’s checkered history. It’s time to own up to it and it’s time to do better.
What are people doing today to observe Juneteenth? What can I do?
There are a number of protests and marches going on across America. Join in on some of those marches, if possible, while keeping safety and COVID-19 in mind.
There are also a number of organizations pushing for Black advancement available to contribute to including the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Color of Change and Dream Defenders. While protesters are out and about, it’s also worthwhile to contribute to any number of bail funds with the Bail Project.
Other than that, spread the news. Tell everyone about Juneteenth, why it’s important and what it stands for. Don’t ever let anyone forget about it and never go another year without celebrating it again.