Sam Roberts and his family are planning for Juneteenth, the latest American holiday to commemorate the 1865 emancipation of Black addicts at the end of the Civil War.
On Sunday, the Roberts family and other Americans will attend celebrations and celebrations. It is part of a growing national recognition of a crucial moment in American history that has been part of the structure of Black culture for generations.
“June tenth is our Freedom Day and African American communities have been celebrating June 19 for a long time,” said Roberts, a father of two from Washington, DC. This is the second national celebration of the holiday since Congress approved it and US President Joe Biden signed it. introduced the June Tenth Act on National Independence Day last year.
“While July 4 is the celebration of freedom for the United States, Juneteenth is a celebration of freedom for African Americans after the Civil War,” said Jesse Holland, a writer and Black historian.
The insistence on a June tenth federal holiday came amid the popularity of the Black Lives Matter movement and a year after nationwide protests against racism and police brutality. This followed the assassination of African-American George Floyd by a white Minneapolis police officer in 2020. Since then, the annual celebration has taken on a new meaning for some in the Black community.
“June services remind Black Americans that we still face the challenges of hatred and discrimination that our ancestors endured,” Roberts said. “We must double our pursuit of equality.”
Some historians believe greater awareness of Juneteenth will encourage forward-thinking conversations among Americans about race relations and the legacy of slavery.
A national public opinion poll indicates that most Americans believe that black people today have been affected by the history of slavery and that the federal government has a responsibility to address these consequences, according to the Gallup Center on Black Voices.
In addition, the poll found that Americans who think government is responsible generally believe that all Black Americans, rather than just those descended from slaves, should benefit from programs to address the effects of slavery.
“Not every African-American in the United States is a descendant of slaves, but for the vast majority of us who are, Juneteenth is the time for us to take stock of who we are today, where we come from, and the sacrifices they make. our ancestors went. before and since the Civil War, ”Holland told VOA.
Declarations of freedom
US President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, a declaration after the end of the Civil War that legally freed more than three million enslaved Blacks in Confederate States. But not all slaves were free because the proclamation could not be implemented in parts of the southern United States.
To enforce the proclamation, Union Army Major-General Gordon Granger marched on Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865, to issue the “General Order Number 3” that ended the enslavement of Blacks in Texas. The mandate freed an estimated 250,000 slaves two-and-a-half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.
“White Texans knew the Civil War was [over] and slavery was forbidden, but they did not tell their slaves the war was over for years [in order] to continue to get free labor from them, ”Holland said. “June 10th was when the lie ended and federal forces showed up to enforce the new federal law that says slavery is illegal in the United States.”
While Juneteenth is being celebrated as the end of slavery, the practice of involuntary serviceability has briefly continued in the states of Delaware and Kentucky. On December 6, 1865, the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution abolished slavery in the United States.
June tenth consciousness
The first events commemorating June 10th date back to 1866, when former slaves celebrated their new freedom with prayer, feasting, singing, and dancing. The commemoration saw a decline in popularity in the 1950s and 60s when Black Americans focused on the civil rights movement and the end of racial discrimination. Juneteenth experienced a revival in the 1980s when Texas became the first state to declare the date a state holiday. Other communities across the U.S. have slowly begun to accept the annual celebration as a public holiday.
Much of the success in boosting support for a national holiday is attributed to African-American activist Opal Lee, known as “the grandmother of Juneteenth.” As a child, Lee saw a group of 500 white rulers destroy and burn down her family’s house to the ground. The life-changing moment led her to a life of teaching and activism.
In 2016, at the age of 89, she started a hiking campaign and traveled hundreds of miles from her hometown, Fort Worth, Texas, to Washington, DC, to press for a federal vacation in June. At 95, Lee is delighted that Juneteenth is getting national attention. She will march again on Sunday to celebrate the holiday.
“It’s important that people recognize Juneteenth,” Lee said in an interview with D Magazine last month. “It’s not a black thing, it’s not just a Texas thing, but it’s about freedom for all.”
Today’s June tenth celebrations often include music festivals, parades or a procession. The celebrations also focus on teachings about African-American heritage, political participation and economic empowerment.
“On the 19th, we get together for cooking sessions, dancing and sharing stories of the Black experience,” Roberts told VOA. His family has been attending June celebrations for decades. “This year we have two days of events on Sunday and Monday, the day on which the federal holiday falls,” he said. The holiday has become a summer ritual for the Roberts and one of the few holidays they hold.
In Utah, Juneteenth is being declared a state holiday for the first time after lawmakers approved a bill earlier this year. “I’m so excited to see that we, as a state, are embracing this holiday,” said Utah State Attorney Sandra Hollins. “For me it means a lot. It means my culture has mattered and it means we can celebrate a holiday that has been overlooked in this state. ” Various festivities will take place in the capital, Salt Lake City.
Nearly all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia now hold Juneteenth. The historian Holland believes this is a clear sign of national recognition and acceptance.
“June tenth is American history and everyone should be able to celebrate it, including people of all races, colors and beliefs.”
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