The 19th of June, 2023, is Juneteenth. The state of Texas is responsible for popularizing Juneteenth, the oldest known celebration of the abolition of slavery in the United States. It’s commonly referred to as “Emancipation Day,” “Freedom Day,” or “Juneteenth Independence Day.” Know more about this day below:
What is Juneteenth?
U.S. President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, in the midst of the Civil War. It emancipated “all persons held as slaves” in the 10 states that were still under Confederate authority at the time.
It wasn’t until Union troops advanced into these areas after the war ended in November 1864, when Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House in Virginia, that the order was strictly executed.
U.S. Major General Gordon Granger issued General Order No. 3 to the citizens of Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865.
“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 of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor.”
How Juneteenth is Celebrated?
Former slaves and their descendants gathered in Galveston and elsewhere in Texas for the first Juneteenth festivities. Since African-Americans were frequently denied access to public venues, several groups and individuals pooled resources to buy land on which to host gatherings.
The purchase of 10 acres in Houston by a group of African-American clergy and businesspeople is one of the most notable and long-lasting examples of this. Emancipation Park, Houston, Texas’s oldest park, was built on this plot of land.
There was a resurgence of interest in Juneteenth festivities during and after the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, after which they dropped throughout the early 1900s (including the Great Depression).
Public celebrations of Juneteenth, including parades and festivals, are now held in several major cities around the United States, notably in the South.
Family and traditional dishes like barbeque, tea cakes, black-eyed peas, and strawberry soda are generally the focus of local Juneteenth celebrations. Many of these celebrations involve public readings of the Emancipation Proclamation and the works of renowned African-American authors and professors, as well as rodeos, street fairs, family reunions, picnics, historical reenactments, and art displays.
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Where is Juneteenth Celebrated?
Juneteenth National Independence Day is a new federal holiday honoring the abolition of slavery in the United States. Whether or not it is recognized as a legal holiday, a day of observance, or something in between by individual state governments varies widely.
According to an examination of state human resources websites, state legislation, and news articles by the Pew Research Center, at least 28 states and the District of Columbia will officially recognize Juneteenth as a public holiday this year. This year is the first time Juneteenth is officially recognized as a state holiday in Connecticut, Minnesota, Nevada, and Tennessee.
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