Black Library, CAS Kids collaborate on art

US recognition of the date the work of many

By Angie Hund | Manor Ink

Juneteenth, now a federal holiday, commemorates the end of slavery in the United States annually on June 19. It’s acknowledged under other titles such as Black Independence Day, Emancipation Day, Jubilee Day and Juneteenth National Independence Day. It’s one of the oldest commemorations related to the abolition of slavery in the United States. Each June, members of the Black community and its allies celebrate to honor this important day in history.

Juneteenth memorializes the date of June 19, 1865, when enslaved people of African descent in Galveston, Texas, were finally aware of their freedom from systemic slavery in the United States. The word itself is a portmanteau combining the month and the date, “June the 19th.”

For many Americans, the concept of “Juneteenth” may be new. However, this holiday has existed for decades prior to its recognition as a national holiday. Before its establishment at a county, state or federal level, it was celebrated within communities around the nation. First declared a state holiday in Texas in 1980, Juneteenth gradually began to be acknowledged by other states. Over several decades, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York followed Texas in recognizing Juneteenth as a state holiday.

Learning of emancipation much later

Written and signed by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation granted freedom to all enslaved peoples. Though technically free, slaves in Confederate states such as Texas and Oklahoma were not told of the proclamation by their owners. Therefore, almost three years later, military intervention was needed to disassemble plantations and inform former slaves of their newfound freedom.

Since that historic day in June 1865, the celebration has held particular meaning for the African American community. Juneteenth continues to be celebrated in communities through parades, events, speeches and reunions.

Established in 2021

With the popularity of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020, establishing Juneteenth as a national holiday became a topic of discussion nationally and was widely supported. Legislation later gained momentum and in June 2021, both houses of Congress quickly passed a bill to federalize Juneteenth, and it was then signed into law by President Biden.

Thus Juneteenth became a landmark in African American history, becoming the first new national holiday since Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was established in 1983. Juneteenth’s federal success can be credited to decades of advocacy and work by Black activists. In 2016, Opal Lee, now known as “the grandmother of Juneteenth,” walked from Texas to Washington, DC, to raise awareness of the importance of the date and to encourage lawmakers to nationalize it. Each day she walked 2.5 miles, portraying the two-and-a-half years that it took for enslaved people in Texas to learn they had been freed.