What Is Juneteenth?

June 19, also known as Juneteenth, is a national holiday that honors the ending of slavery following the Civil War. Slavery remains a sin in the United State’s history, something even President Donald Trump acknowledged in a statement made on Tuesday.

WHAT IS JUNETEENTH?

The holiday can be traced back to June 19, 1865. On that day, Major General Gordon Granger arrived at Galveston, Texas, informing the community that President Abraham Lincoln had two years prior freed all slaves by signing the Emancipation Proclamation. While the southern community did not approve of the news, they complied. The holiday’s name is an amalgamation of “June” and “nineteenth,” the day slavery in the United States officially ended.

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It’s never been confirmed why the news was delayed by over two years, though some speculate the news was intentionally delayed or that a messenger was killed on the way to Texas to deliver it. Nevertheless, slavery’s termination wasn’t immediate; slave owners were tasked with informing their slaves of the news, some of whom put off doing so until after the harvest. Notably, many slave owners had previously fled to Texas to escape the Union’s laws in nearby territories.

As for how Juneteenth is celebrated in the present day, many parades and events are hosted across the country annually, with many people sharing their activities on social media with the hashtag #JuneteenthDay. Some folks posted pictures and stories of the fun events they attended while others used the day to discuss the unsolved social issues still plaguing this country or merely reflected on the day’s significance.