What is Juneteenth?
Juneteenth (also called “Juneteenth Independence Day,” “Freedom Day” or “Emancipation Day.") is an annual holiday marking the end of slavery in the United States when enslaved African Americans in Texas were informed of their freedom on June 19, 1865. Today, people celebrate the holiday with family, and some cities hold larger events like parades (Taylor).
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Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19th that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. Note that this was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation – which had become official January 1, 1863. The Emancipation Proclamation had little impact on the Texans due to the minimal number of Union troops to enforce the new Executive Order. However, with the surrender of General Lee in April of 1865, and the arrival of General Granger’s regiment, the forces were finally strong enough to influence and overcome the resistance" (JUNETEENTH.Com). |
A New Federal Holiday
On June 17, 2021, Juneteenth became the 11th holiday to be recognized by the federal government. The Senate passed a bill on June 15, 2021 to recognize Juneteenth, and it was approved by the House on June 16, and signed into law by President Biden on June 17 (Taylor). The most recent federal holiday to be recognized before Juneteenth was Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983, and before that, Memorial Day (Gardiner).
According to a recent Gallup survey that was conducted from May 18 to May 23 on a random sample of over 3,000 adults, more than 60% of Americans know "nothing at all" or only "a little bit" about Juneteenth. The 37% who have "a lot" or "some" knowledge about Juneteenth is an increase from past years due to what academics believe is a reflection of increased awareness after the protests in 2020. Based on the results, the Gallup Center on Black Voices concluded that awareness is a critical component in determining whether a person supports celebrating and teaching Juneteenth (Paz). The popularity of the holiday has fluctuated over the years, and historian Brenda Elaine Stevenson, who specializes in African American history and the history of the Southern United States stated that there are "spikes" in Juneteenth popularity that correspond to when there is increased focus on Black life. She added that along with the protests in summer 2020, the pandemic's impact on African Americans and arguments about teaching race in schools increased the interest of the public on learning about the experiences of Black Americans (Paz). In other years, Congress passed resolutions honoring Juneteenth. In 2020, Texas Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and Massachusetts Sen. Edward Markey, both Democrats, introduced bills to make Juneteenth a federal holiday, but the effort failed (Kaur). Learn More: |
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Does this Solve Anything?
Although recognition is a step in the right direction, many have remarked that making Juneteenth a federal holiday does not erase or address the societal challenges that Black Americans still face to this day. Others even seen it as an empty gesture of Congress (Gardiner).
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"What people are really looking for is beyond symbolic acknowledgment is tangible policies from the federal government that actually speak to whether or not they acknowledge this country's history and its present" (Kaur). |