One of the oldest holidays was legalized in the USA: what is Juneteenth, and how to celebrate it - ForumDaily
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One of the oldest holidays was legalized in the USA: what is Juneteenth, and how to celebrate it

Juneteenth is one of the oldest American holidays, celebrated every year on June 19th to commemorate the official abolition of slavery in the United States. And on June 17, it joined the ranks of US federal holidays, becoming the 12th weekend in the country. Writes about this New York Post.

Photo: Shutterstock

This day got its name from the combination of the word “June” (june) and the end of the number 19 (teenth). It has long been noted by black Americans as a symbol of their long-awaited freedom. But the history of the holiday and how Juneteenth gained its significance began 156 years ago in Galveston (Texas).

What is the meaning and background of Juneteenth

So, on June 19, 1865, Union forces, led by General Gordon Granger, arrived in Galveston to break the news to the last remaining Confederate supporters that they had lost the Civil War and all slaves were to be freed.

“The people of Texas were told that, by proclamation from the Executive Branch of the United States, all slaves were free,” the Union general told the people of Galveston. - This presupposes absolute equality of rights between former masters and slaves. The connection between them, which still exists today, becomes the same as between employer and employee.”

Newly freed slaves celebrated their freedom with “prayer, feasting, song and dancing,” and the following year saw the first official holiday, Juneteenth, according to Encyclopedia Britannica.

“The importance of Juneteenth is that it is rooted in this long history of the struggle for freedom, and then the effort to maintain that freedom in the face of the enormous repression that began shortly after liberation,” observed Columbia University professor David Rosner.

“This marked the true end of the Civil War and the beginning of Reconstruction—a time that was supposed to be a very happy and hopeful time, but turned out to be a very unhappy one as part of the ransom of the South to move African Americans into imposed slavery,” Rosner explained.

While President Abraham Lincoln abolished slavery in the Declaration of Emancipation of January 1, 1863, rebellious Confederate strongholds scattered throughout the South delayed widespread implementation of the declaration.

Following Confederate General Robert Lee's reluctant surrender at Appomattox, Virginia, to Union General Ulysses S. Grant Granger was finally able to reach Galveston to announce Lincoln's declaration and free the last remaining victims of slavery in the United States.

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So what is the reason the news went on for so long, and why slavery in Galveston lasted more than two and a half years after Lincoln canceled it.

Legend has it that an envoy on horseback with news of freedom was killed on his way to Texas, while other historians blame Galveston's isolated nature as a barrier island on the eastern edge of Texas and their limited access to communications.

But Professor Nolive Rooks, Ph.D., director of American studies and professor of African studies at Cornell University, said the delayed end of slavery was driven only by greed.

“Frankly, the idea that people in this part of Texas had no idea the war was over is completely ridiculous,” Rooks said. “There were wire services, there were newspapers, and the big plantation owners were very rich, and rich people had access to information.”

“They were cruel people. At that time, this was the ruling class in the United States, the elite, many of them rich, who could not have been illiterate or backward. Cruel and inhumane, yes, but not ignorant,” the professor continued.

At that time, Galveston published its own newspaper, the Galveston Daily News, and on June 3, 1865, two and a half weeks before Granger arrived, a message was published from New Orleans detailing the end of the war and the return of the Confederate prisoners.

However, since then, according to Rooks, Juneteenth has been "passed on" in black communities, and in 2020, at the height of the civil rights movement following the death of George Floyd, the holiday has seen renewed interest in it.

When Juneteenth became a federal holiday

And now the President of the United States Joe Biden on June 17 signed a bill establishing Juneteenth (June 19) as a federal holiday.

Until that time, Juneteenth was not a federal holiday, but 46 states and the District of Columbia recognized it locally.

The first official Juneteenth celebration took place a year after the liberation of slaves in Galveston, but it took Texas more than a hundred years to make it a state holiday. In 1980, Texas became the first U.S. state to declare Juneteenth a holiday.

But before it was introduced at the federal level, four states never recognized Juneteenth: Hawaii, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Montana.

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Juneteenth has become a federal holiday nationwide. Juneteenth National Independence Day became the 12th official public holiday and the first new holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was established 38 years ago in 1983 by then President Ronald Reagan.

How is Juneteenth celebrated

Texans have celebrated Juneteenth since 1866 with community-oriented events. For example, they held parades, food gatherings, prayer gatherings, history and cultural readings, and musical performances. Over time, the communities have developed their own traditions.

In 1872, black Texans led by a Baptist priest and former slave Rev. Jack Yates raised $ 1000 to buy 10 acres of land in Houston and named it the Liberation Park, according to the Houston Department of Parks and Leisure.

Until now, Rooks noted, Juneteenth is still a day of commemoration.

“This holiday is filled with joy and entertainment. People are making good food and stuff,” Rooks said.

“You'll see people with crowns on their heads - that's Miss Juneteenth, they were voted for and crowned. People have an atmosphere similar to a carnival: an abundance of all kinds of parties and street vendors - it’s a very big holiday,” he concluded.

“The United States is really confronted with what that meant before and what it continues to mean, because much of the US economy was based on the enslavement of people for a long time,” Rooks said.

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