Today, June 19th, is a holiday commemorating the freedom of the slaves in the United States. The name Juneteenth is a combination of the words June and nineteenth. Today is also called Emancipation Day and Freedom Day.
Even though it goes by many names, Juneteenth is one of the most important anniversaries in our nation’s history. On June 19, 1865, Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger, who had fought for the Union, led a force of soldiers to Galveston, Texas, to deliver a very important message. When Granger arrived in Galveston, he read out General Order No. 3, informing the residents that slavery would no longer be tolerated and that all slaves were now free and would henceforth be treated as hired workers if they chose to remain on the plantations. The order read in part, “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 rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired laborer…”
It’s probably not surprising that many former slaves didn’t stay on the plantations as workers, but left in search of new beginnings or to find family members who had been sold away. When Granger arrived in Galveston, there were still around 250,000 slaves and they were not all freed immediately — or even soon. It wasn’t uncommon for slave owners, not wanting to give up free labor, to refuse to release their slaves until forced to do so, in person, by a representative of the government. Some would wait until one final harvest was complete, and some would just outright refuse to abide by the directive. It was a perilous time for Black people, and some former slaves who were freed or attempted to be set free were attacked and killed. For Confederate states like Texas, there existed a desire to hold on to their system as long as they could.
Before the reading of General Order No. 3, many slave owners in Confederate states just chose not to tell their slaves about the Emancipation Proclamation and didn’t honor it. They got away with that because, before winning the war, Union soldiers were largely unable to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation in Souther states.
What the Emancipation Proclamation did that was so important is that it began a creeping process of emancipation where the federal government finally took firm stands to say slavery was wrong and it must end. Even with the Emancipation Proclamation, slavery would not truly come to an end until the ratification of the 13th Amendment.
After they were freed, some former slaves and their descendants would travel to Galveston every year in honor of Juneteenth. These annual gatherings spread to other states, but it wasn’t uncommon that Black people were bared from celebrating in public places. In 1872, a group of African American leaders came together and raised $800 to purchase 10 acres of land in Houston, Texas. That land became Emancipation Park — it underwent a $33.5 million renovation in 2016 with a rededication ceremony held in 2017.
In 1980, Texas was the first state to declare Juneteenth a state holiday and some other states followed Texas’ lead, but it was not actually recognized as a federal holiday until June 17, 2021.
Today, Juneteenth is recognized and celebrated around the world. It’s another day that we can all take a step toward reconciliation and healing as we still strive to achieve racial equality — and justice — in our ever more violent world.
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