JUNTEENTH
June 19th marks a long-overlooked celebration 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 slave’s captive after the announcement, so Juneteenth became a symbolic date representing African American freedom.
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 through one more harvest season. The first official Juneteenth celebration came the year after the liberation of slaves in Galveston 1866. The celebrations were 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.
In 1980, Texas became the first state in the US to declare Juneteenth a state holiday, more than a hundred years after its inception. Juneteenth was signed into the legislation by President Joe Biden in June 2021. All 50 states and the District of Columbia recognize Juneteenth as a holiday or observance, and at least 21 states and the District of Columbia have designated Juneteenth as a permanent paid and/or legal holiday through legislation or executive action. Even though Gov Andrew Cuomo signed laws making Juneteenth a state holiday, those laws did not apply to New York City’s municipal employees. Former Mayor Bill de Blasio declared Juneteenth a city holiday in June 2020, but his administration did not officially make the date a paid holiday before he left office.
Current Mayor Eric Adams released a statement Monday Jan 9th saying Juneteenth 2023 would be a paid city holiday for the first time, the move to make the date a paid holiday was “long overdue,” adding that it would “immediately take effect this year.” “People across the country of all races, nationalities and religions unite on this day to truthfully acknowledge the stain of slavery and celebrate the countless contributions of Black Americans,” Adams said in his statement. “Holding a mirror to our nation’s past atrocities is never easy, but it is necessary.”
The public holiday for Juneteenth this year will fall on Monday, June 20, as June 19 is a Sunday.
