Juneteenth seemingly entered America’s historical canon in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death last year, 155 years after the Civil War. In response to the ensuing global protests, many corporations pledged to do better by addressing issues pertaining to the lack of diversity and representation among their senior leadership and in their policies.
That meant finally acknowledging Juneteenth as a day of observance, to understand its history, to reflect on its significance and legacy and explore how to move forward. But many shook their heads — what exactly is Juneteenth, this so-called new holiday? Where did it come from all of a sudden, and why must it be celebrated? Should I say “Happy Juneteenth”?
For brief context, the American Civil War was, in part, about the commodification, possession and dehumanization of enslaved Black people who built this country through forced labor. The Northern states (the Union), had proclaimed slavery to be illegal and wanted it abolished throughout the country. The Southern states (the Confederacy), on the other hand, wanted to preserve slavery as part of their economic and historical foundation. The war lasted 4 years, from April 1861 to April 1865, when Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Courthouse in Virginia.
Many of us were taught in school that President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 marked the end of slavery. However, it was incomplete, having only ensured freedom for slaves in the Confederacy, not everyone.
Juneteenth (a portmanteau of “June” and “Nineteenth”, and also known as Jubilee Day, Freedom Day or Emancipation Day), commemorates the end of slavery throughout the United States. The war had effectively concluded in April 1865 with General Lee’s surrender and President Johnson declared the end on May 9th. However, in Texas, slavery continued as usual. On June 19th, 1865 — months after General Lee’s surrender — federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, with General Gordon Granger declaring General Order 3, which stated that “in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.” However, part of that same order did encourage these same newly freed people to remain with their owners. SMH.
In the ensuing decades — from Reconstruction, to Jim Crow through the post-Civil Rights Act of 1964 — acknowledgment and celebration of Juneteenth was significantly diminished. It has taken the recent racial reckoning, prompted by the high-profile deaths of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd, for Juneteenth to rightfully take its place as part of the American cultural and historical lexicon. On June 14th, 2021, the US Senate unanimously passed a measure to formally recognize Juneteenth as a national holiday. It will likely also sail through the House of Representatives before heading to President Biden’s desk to be signed into law.
It is important to remember there was a time in US history when Black people were reduced to 3/5ths of a person. Juneteenth is an acknowledgment that we are whole, that we are here, and that we are an integral part of this country. Because Black Lives Matter.
