Juneteenth
is the annual holiday celebrating the end of slavery in the United States, and
commemorates the day when news of their emancipation finally reached the slaves
that were held in the deepest parts of the Confederacy. Although the holiday is
well known in some parts of the country, many of us are simply unaware of what
the holiday celebrates and why it is so significant to many of our fellow
citizens.
On June 18,
1865, General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, TX with 1,800 Union soldiers
to occupy Texas and enforce the laws of the Federal government. The following day, on June 19th,
General Granger went out on the balcony of a large home in Galveston and read
out multiple General Orders establishing the military authority in the area and
setting up the provisional government and its laws. Among the orders read by General Granger was
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. This involves an absolute equality
of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves,
and the connection hereby 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
Granger’s announcement electrified the now former slaves who spontaneously began
celebrating their freedom with prayer, singing, and general rejoicing.
A year
later, the freedmen in Texas organized the first “Jubilee Day” celebration to
commemorate General Granger’s announcement.
The celebration on June 19th became an annual tradition, with
former slaves and their families gathering in their finest clothes to celebrate
their freedom with religious services, the singing of traditional spirituals, readings
of the Emancipation Proclamation and General Order No. 3, and plenty of the
families’ best cooking to share and enjoy with their neighbors. As the years passed, Jubilee Day became known
by several different names, including Freedom Day, Ce-Liberation Day,
Emancipation Day, and the name it is known by today – Juneteenth.
Early Juneteenth
observances were church-centered celebrations that doubled as opportunities for
the freedmen to learn how to exercise their new rights, such as the right to
vote, and to organize schools and other institutions designed to improve their
lives.
As former
slaves in Texas began exercising their freedom to move about the country, many
returned to the states they had been dragged from to look for their families
and loved ones that had been left behind.
Others migrated to northern states, or out west. Wherever they went, the tradition of
Juneteenth went with them, and Jubilee celebrations began spreading throughout
the nation.
Like the
struggle for civil rights, Juneteenth celebrations have also faced obstacles
imposed by bigotry and racism. Many
cities prohibited African-Americans from gathering together in public parks and
facilities. In those cities the Black
community celebrated Juneteenth on river banks, or by lakes away from town. In some cities, Black citizens pooled their
resources to purchase land and create their own parks. Historic Emancipation Park in downtown Houston,
TX, was originally purchased by members of the Black community in 1872 as a
place to hold their annual Jubilee Day celebrations.
In the years since General Granger read
General Order No. 3, the number of Juneteenth celebrations have increased or
diminished depending on what has been happening in the country. Some eras in particular, such as the end of
Reconstruction and the Great Depression, saw fewer communities celebrate
Juneteenth. Other eras, such as the 50’s and 60’s, saw a regular increase in Juneteenth
celebrations as African-American GI’s returned from World War II, and the Civil
Rights movement grew and gathered momentum.
In the late 1970’s, the Texas Legislature declared Juneteenth a “holiday
of significance,” and in 1980 Texas became the first state to declare
Juneteenth a State Holiday. Today 47
states and the District of Columbia officially acknowledge Juneteenth.
June 19,
1865 marked the end of slavery as a legal institution in the United States of
America. It also marked the beginning of
the long and tortuous road that African-Americans have walked over the past 155
years to get the equal rights that are their due as free men and women. Juneteenth
is not just a celebration of freedom from slavery, it is a call to continue the
struggle for civil rights until everyone is valued for who they are, not what
they look like. It is a day to reflect
on how we regard and treat our fellowman, and to break off any chains of bigotry
and prejudice that may still bind our own hearts.
Happy
Juneteenth!
