How did Juneteenth come to be, and why is it such a historically significant holiday?
Juneteenth, which commemorates the end of slavery, started back in 1865, two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. On June 19, 1865, Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas to deliver the news that slavery had been abolished and declare the state’s slaves free. Although this declaration did not mark total emancipation, annual celebrations of freedom began to occur thereafter.
While Black Americans have celebrated this self-proclaimed day of absolute freedom for more than a century, President Joe Biden officially declared Juneteenth a federal holiday on June 17, 2021. This day signifies the ongoing fight for equality and serves as a reminder of the efforts to dismantle racism in America.
Françoise Hamlin, associate professor of Africana Studies and history, explains the origins of Juneteenth and how we can use the holiday to reckon with the nation’s past in order to inform a more just future.
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Image credit:
Courtesy of Galveston Historical Foundation.
"June 19, Emancipation Day. Corpus Christi, 1913," Collection of African American photographs Ag2002.1415, DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University.
"Emancipation Day Parade Lincolnville, Florida (1920s)" by Richard Aloysius Twine, 1896-1974. State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory.
"Emancipation Day Officers Of The Day" from Austin History Center, Austin Public Library.
“Juneteenth parade in Denver heading north from downtown toward the corner of York and ??? circ 1983” by Newestf (CC BY-SA 4.0).
"Juneteenth marching band parade in Austin, Texas, 2009." Jessica Mullen (CC BY 2.0).
