Juneteenth: Celebrating the path to freedom

Danny Federico
ECB Publishing, Inc.

“My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.” – Desmond Tutu

Known as one of America's oldest holidays, Juneteenth (June 19) annually celebrates the end of slavery in the United States. According to Juneteenth.com, the celebration originates from Galveston, Texas, when Union solders, led by Major General Gordon Granger, arrived on June 19, 1865, with “news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free.” Although President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation two years prior on Jan. 1, 1863, it had little impact on Texans because of the “minimal number of Union troops to enforce the new Executive Order.” This changed, however, with the surrender of General Robert E. Lee in April 1865.
While it originated in Texas, Juneteenth has since become an observed annual holiday throughout America. Recently, in 2021, President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law, officially recognizing the celebration as a federal holiday. While it's not observed federally in Florida and over 20 other states, it is still recognized as a public holiday. In fact, according to the Pew Research Center, it was first observed in Florida in 1991, making it one of the first three states “outside of Texas to commemorate Juneteenth as a day of observance in the 1990s.”
Early Juneteenth celebrations involved church-centered community gatherings, and Juneteenth.com adds that a few traditions that continue today include rodeos, fishing, barbecues and baseball. However, the holiday is “almost always focused on education and self improvement.” This meant many celebrations featured prayer services, along with guest speakers and elders to “recount the events of the past.”
Because of the freedoms associated with the date of June 19, Juneteenth is widely considered to be the country's second Independence Day. So, as America officially celebrates on Monday, June 19, take a moment to reflect on the number of lives touched by the message of freedom. As the National Museum of African American History and Culture states, “Formerly enslaved people immediately sought to reunify families, establish schools, run for political office, push radical legislation and even sue slaveholders for compensation.”