Juneteenth
Today marks a long-overlooked day in US history: Juneteenth. Juneteenth celebrates the end of slavery in the United States. It is also known as Emancipation Day, Juneteenth Independence Day, and Black Independence Day. On June 19, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, TX, and announced the end of the Civil War and the end of slavery. Although the Emancipation Proclamation came 2½ years earlier on January 1, 1863, many slave owners continued to hold their slaves captive after the announcement, so Juneteenth became a symbolic date representing African American freedom.
June 19, 1865, marks the date that Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, TX, and announced the end of both the Civil War and slavery. His announcement, General Order Number 3 reads:
“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. The Freedmen are advised to remain at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts; and they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.”
Even after the general order, some slave masters withheld the information from their slaves, holding them as slaves through one more harvest season. Texans celebrated Juneteenth beginning in 1866, with community-centric events, such as parades, cookouts, prayer gatherings, historical and cultural readings, and musical performances. Over time, communities have developed their own traditions. Some communities purchased land for Juneteenth celebrations, such as Emancipation Park in Houston, TX. As families emigrated from Texas to other parts of the United States, they carried the Juneteenth celebrations with them.
Today, although most states now officially recognize Juneteenth, it's still not a national holiday. As a senator, Barack Obama co-sponsored legislation to make Juneteenth a national holiday, though it didn't pass then or while he was president. Nonetheless, 46 states and the District of Columbia recognize Juneteenth as a state or ceremonial holiday. The first official Juneteenth celebration came the year after the liberation of slaves in Galveston, but it would take more than a hundred years for Texas to consider it a state holiday. In 1980, Texas became the first state in the US to declare Juneteenth a state holiday.
The only three states yet to recognize Juneteenth as either a state or ceremonial holiday are Hawaii, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Despite this, while the majority of states observe the day, only a couple of states outside of Texas recognize Juneteenth as a paid state holiday. Two days ago on June 17th, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order recognizing June 19 as a paid holiday for state employees and said he will propose legislation to make it a permanent state holiday down the line. Now, as Black Lives Matter protests bring a renewed focus to the plight of black Americans, private companies have started to designate Juneteenth as a paid company holiday. Here are a few US companies promising to recognize Juneteenth, according to NBC:
- Best Buy announced employees will be offered a “paid volunteer day” for Juneteenth 2020 and in 2021, it will become a “formal, paid company holiday.”
- General Motors plans to hold an 8-minute, 46-second-long moment of silence in honor of Floyd, who was killed at the hands of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.
- J.C. Penney told staffers Juneteenth will be considered an annual holiday for workers.
- Lyft said Juneteenth will be considered a companywide holiday effective Friday.
- NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Juneteenth will be considered a league holiday and the NFL office has been ordered to close Friday.
- Nike will make Juneteenth an annual paid holiday.
- Postmates has declared June 19 an official company holiday.
- Spotify will make Juneteenth a paid holiday for all employees.
- Target workers who are paid hourly will receive time and a half for working June 19 and it’ll be recognized as a company holiday moving forward.
- Twitter and Square made Juneteenth a company holiday this year and going forward.
- Uber employees will be given a paid day off.
There are several Juneteenth celebrations and events occurring in all five boroughs of NYC. Below is a list of some events happening in Manhattan on Friday:
