Juneteenth: Marking a Monumental Moment in History
Juneteenth should be a day that reminds all of us of the indisputable basic human liberties every United States citizen should enjoy.
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John Hairston
June 18, 2024 |
On June 19, 1865, shortly after the last Civil War battle, Union Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, to reiterate and reinforce an end to all slavery in the United States. His troops carried with them Executive Order No. 3, which clearly and directly declared that all enslaved people in all states were free.
The decree came almost two years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation officially abolished slavery.
Over the past 160 years, people have referred to that momentous Monday in American history by many names: Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Cel-Liberation, Second Independence Day, and Emancipation Day.
Today, we commemorate that important day annually as Juneteenth. Regardless of what we call June 19, though, the historical, social, and cultural implications of that date for our Nation remain profound.
