Image via SFIst: All About Juneteenth, the Holiday Celebrating the End of Slavery
Juneteenth, sometimes also called “Freedom Day” and “Emancipation Day,” or the nation’s “Second Independence Day,” takes place in Texas every year on June 19.
President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, ordering all slaves to be freed in the seceding southern states. However, freedom would not come for all enslaved Black people until the end of the Civil War at the hands of the Union Army. On June 19, 1865, Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, where General Granger announced that “in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.”
There are scholars who argue that indeed the news of emancipation traveled more quickly and widely throughout the country than is given credence in the history books. There is evidence of large numbers of slaves escaping to freedom after hearing of the emancipation, and there is evidence of many of them joining the Union Army in order to help liberate others still held in bondage. Union General Grant praised and acknowledged the effectiveness and courage of the Black Regiments who fought in the effort to free their brothers and sisters from chains. (Gates, "What Is Juneteenth?")
An effort to make Juneteenth a national holiday finally succeeded with the passage of the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act on June 16, 2021.
Juneteenth Texas
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Juneteenth Texas, Publications of the Texas Folklore Society #LIV, received a San Antonio Conservation Society award for the preservation of historic buildings, objects and places relating to the history of Texas and its natural beauty and all that is admirably distinctive of our state, and to educate the public with knowledge of our inherited regional values.
Lone Star Pasts
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Chapter 6 Juneteenth: Emancipation and Memory.
This chapter explores the historical event in detail, it's meaning, and the memories of those who witnessed the announcement of freedom in 1865.
It Happened in Texas: Remarkable Events That Shaped History
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Links opens the chapter "The Emancipation of Juneteenth, 1865."
-two months after the main Confederate armies surrendered to the Union— that Major General Gordon Granger stepped off a ship at Galveston and, on behalf of the new president, Andrew Johnson, issued a historic declaration: “The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.”
The Laws of Slavery in Texas
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The laws that governed the institution of slavery in early Texas were enacted over a fifty-year period in which Texas moved through incarnations as a Spanish colony, a Mexican state, an independent republic, a part of the United States, and a Confederate state. This unusual legal heritage sets Texas apart from the other slave-holding states and provides a unique opportunity to examine how slave laws were enacted and upheld as political and legal structures changed. See Article: The End of Slavery in Texas: A Research Note.
Lee, from Ft. Worth, Texas, speaking before Congress in support of the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act:
"Never before, millions have been aware of the atrocities that happened to the enslaved or the blatant disregard for human life that is now occurring, (which is) a residual effect of slavery."
“Juneteenth is about reclaiming our history, rejoicing in the progress we’ve made, and recommitting to the work yet undone," said Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., in a press release announcing the measure.
Created by: John Powell
First Published: Summer 2021
Other Contributors: Elaine Patton
Currently Maintained by: Elaine Patton
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