What Is Juneteenth?

The topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday is Juneteenth, the newest federal holiday. As many people may not know or understand the meaning of Juneteenth, I will share part of the information in an article Alexandra Rainin the Deseret News. 

The end of slavery began when President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. The evil practice officially ended on December 6, 1865, when the Thirteen Amendment, which abolished slavery, was ratified by the States about a year after Congress passed the law.

Black Americans have commemorated Juneteenth – named for June 19, 1865, the day that Union soldiers delivered the message of liberation to slaves in Galveston, Texas. The following information comes from the article by Rain.

On June 19, 1865, Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas, at the head of about 2,000 Union soldiers. There, he delivered General Order No. 3, which declared that “all slaves are free” – effectively liberating roughly 250,000 people in that area – and advised them to stay at their posts and work for wages. Across the former Confederacy, masters often waited until a government agent arrived, or after the harvest, to tell those they had enslaved that they were freed.

Nearly 40,000 Black soldiers died in the Civil War, fighting to free their people after the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation made newly freed Black men eligible to serve in the military. About 198,000 took up arms in segregated units, notably marching with Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman in his famous march across Georgia and South Carolina to the Atlantic Coast, wrestling Atlanta and Savannah from Confederate control….

An early emancipation celebration was held in Galveston on January 1, 1866. A Galveston newspaper reported that hundreds of men, women and children gathered in the “colored church.” Among the speakers was Brig. Gen. Edgar Mantlebert Gregory. The Emancipation Proclamation was read from the pulpit and the congregation sang hymns like “John Brown’s body.” The first Juneteenth happened that summer, and soon came to embody the spirit of liberation, with “monstrous and brilliant” parades through the Texas city.

There is much more information in the article about the end of slavery. However, knowing the above information will help understand why Juneteenth is important to all of us, but especially to Black Americans. Understanding the meaning behind the holiday will make commemoration of it much more powerful.