Juneteenth is a holiday celebrating the emancipation of slaves in the United States. The name Juneteenth combines the words "June" and "nineteenth".
Even though President Abraham Lincoln officially freed all slaves as of January 1, 1863, the 250,000 slaves in Texas did not know about it. Slave owners did not share this news and continued to keep slaves.
Finally, two and a half years after Lincoln's Emanicipation Proclamation, General Gordon Granger and his Union troops rode to Galveston, Texas and declared the end of slavery.
On June 19, 1865, an order was issued:
"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 to property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor..."
Most of the slaves were not interested in continuing to work for their masters, even for pay. Many migrated to other states to start a new life.
In spite of their new status, life for the freed slaves continued to be difficult and dangerous. Blacks were hunted down and killed. Gatherings to celebrate their freedom were met with opposition.
The first Juneteenth celebration was on June 19, 1866, exactly one year after the Galveston proclamation. It took more than one hundred years for Juneteenth to become officially recognized. In 1980, Texas became the first state to declare Juneteenth a state holiday. By 2020, most states had done the same.
Juneteenth received increased attention during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests and calls to declare Juneteenth a United States federal holiday grew louder. One year later, in June 2021, Congress passed a bill to make June 19, Juneteenth National Independence Day, a US federal holiday.
Source: worksheetsplus.com/BlackHistory/Juneteenth.html What Is Juneteenth?
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