Juneteenth marks the day on which chattel slavery officially ended on June 19, 1865.
This holiday undeniably serves as a beacon of progress and a symbol of hope. But let it also serve as a reminder that we must continue to work toward a future where equality, justice, and freedom are not conditional but universal.
There are a few significant details about the history of this holiday that should not be forgotten:
Nearly 2½ years went by between The Emancipation Proclamation and
June 19, 1865, when Texas was officially informed that the Civil War had ended and that slavery was no longer legal.
The announcement, given by Major General Gordon Granger, was primarily addressed to the enslavers, not those who were enslaved. As a result, some of these enslavers deliberately withheld this information in order to get through one more harvest system.
Perhaps the biggest injustice was in the second half of the announcement itself:
“The Freedmen are advised to remain at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts; and they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.”
In other words, just like the 13th Amendment, there were some significant caveats to this “conditional freedom” that still put Black Americans at risk of re-enslavement if they broke the rules.
Today, as we remember and celebrate this monumental step in American history, let us also recognize how much further we have to go in creating a nation where Black Americans are truly liberated from the ongoing harms of systemic injustice.
