“Juneteenth” has gone by many names – whether you call it Emancipation Day, Freedom Day or the country’s second Independence Day, Juneteenth is one of the most important anniversaries in American history.
On June 19, 1865, Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger, who had fought for the Union, led a force of soldiers to Galveston, Texas, to deliver a very important message: The war was finally over, the Union had won, and the enforcement of the end of slavery was soon to begin.
The announcement came long after President Abraham Lincoln had first signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1st, 1863, and two months after the effective conclusion of the Civil War. It wasn’t until on June 19, 1865 when the last enslaved people in the South were freed by the Union army.
That was 156 years ago. This year, Americans across the country celebrated Juneteenth as a federal holiday for the first time.
It is the first federal holiday to be created by Congress since 1983, when lawmakers designated the third Monday in January as Martin Luther King Jr. Day, in honor of the slain civil-rights leader. After years of campaigning for the holiday to be recognized, President Biden signed bipartisan legislation making Juneteenth a federal holiday on June 17, 2021. The bill passed the Senate unanimously and was approved 415-14 in the House. Congressional leaders from both parties said establishing the holiday was an important gesture in recognizing those who suffered under American slavery and as an act of racial reconciliation, and the new federal holiday took effect immediately. Because the first observance fell on Saturday, most federal employees were given off Friday, June 18.
Although Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States, it was celebrated long before it became a federal holiday. Amidst a pandemic that has disproportionately affected people of color, and a protest movement against police brutality and structural racism toward black Americans, this year it was cause for wide celebration across the country. From barbecues and cookouts, sipping on red drinks, parades, public murals to shopping only at black-owned businesses to simply spending time with friends and family at home – this year was truly a reason to celebrate. Here’s a look at how Juneteenth was celebrated in 2021, vs 100 years ago:
