Unbeknownst to many people, Juneteenth is actually the oldest known celebration of the ending of slavery for African Americans in our country. The biggest misconception about the ending of slavery is that when the Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation back in 1863, every slave was free to live their lives like nothing ever happened! Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case!
If you are knowledgeable of U.S. History, you’d know that in that same year, our country was in the midst of a civil war, the North consisted of the Union army and the South as the Confederate army. The country was split in two, entirely, and one of their biggest conflicts were conditions of slavery.
Even though, Abraham Lincoln issued the Proclamation freeing the slaves from physical bondage, only the slaves whose owners were part of the Union really allowed their slaves to be freed. Down south, slaves remained in bondage for two and a half years!
On June 19, 1865, Union soldiers headed down to Galveston, Texas, led by the newest Union general, Gordon Granger, to inform the slaves that the war had ended and that they were indeed, FREED!
And for the many of stories told that could explain the almost 3 year delay on the news, the newly freed slaves noted this date in history and made a commitment to celebrate it with parades, cookouts, and other gatherings for years to come.
So our question to you is, do you celebrate Juneteenth? If so, what do you do to celebrate? Let us know in the comment section below.
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