What is Juneteenth?
Juneteenth is short for June 19th. It is also called Freedom Day or Emancipation day, and is celebrated as the day the enslaved black people in the South were officially freed.
On June 19, 1865 a Union Army led by Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger marched into Texas and officially informed the enslaved people that they were to be freed.
This was a full two and a half years after President Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
Today, June 19th, 2020 commemorates 155 years since General Granger read out Order Number 3 in Galveston, TX informing the enslaved people of their freedom.
Today is a day to celebrate blackness or to learn and reflect.
Happy Freedom Day!!!
Sources:
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. “What Is Juneteenth.” PBS.org. Originally published in The Root. 2013. https://www.pbs.org/wnet/african-americans-many-rivers-to-cross/history/what-is-juneteenth/
“History of Juneteenth.” Juneteenth.com. https://www.juneteenth.com/history.htm
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