June 19 – or Juneteenth – is a very important holiday, as it marks the end of Slavery in the United States. This year also marks the 155th annual celebration. Learn more about Juneteenth, here.
It’s June 19, also known as “Juneteenth.” However, not many Americans are educated about the essential holiday. Nonetheless, we’re in a day and age where the Black Lives Matter movement is stronger than ever following the death of George Floyd and many other Black individuals who’ve died at the hands of police officers. As allies, it’s crucial to be educated about Juneteenth — especially as nationwide protests against police brutality and racial injustice continue. Learn more with these fives fact:
1. Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. — It’s probably the most important American holiday… that not every American knows. June 19th, or “Juneteenth,” has come to symbolize the end of slavery in the U.S. President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, announcing the end of slavery in the country. But, the country was still in the throes of the Civil War at the time. The rebelling Confederacy wasn’t going to recognize something the North decreed regarding slaves. When the war finally ended on May 9, 1865, owners were tasked with telling their slaves that they were free. As argued in a Juneteenth episode of ABC’s Black-ish in 2017, Texas landowners may have withheld this information so they make use of the slave labor for one more harvest. On June 19, 1865 – two years after the Emancipation Proclamation – Major Gen. Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, informing the residents that slavery was over, according to USA Today. This day, June 19 – or Juneteenth – has become symbolic of the day slavery ended in the U.S.
2. It’s not a federal holiday…yet. — Texas, in 1979, became the first state to make Juneteenth an official holiday, according to Fast Company. It became a national day of observance in 2014, thanks to President Barack Obama. Most states and the District of Columbia observe it, with only Hawaii
