Juneteenth

For Texas slaves in particular, the Juneteenth declaration signaled the beginning of a new life. In the context of significant dates in American history, the ...

She has also attended Angelo State University for graduate courses and studied Texas Family Law at Sam Houston State University. She lives just on the edge of the Chihuahua desert in west Texas. Instead of the American dream, after the Civil War came a baptism into the realm of racism in the form of Jim Crow laws which re-segregated the south. And white people own 86 percent of the wealth in the United States versus less than three percent for Blacks. Depending on when you were born, the experience of each generation will factor into behavior and outcomes in the workplace differently; meaning that inclusion is not a one-size-fits all. In the context of significant dates in American history, the day freedom is awarded becomes a milestone like no other. For Texas slaves in particular, the Juneteenth declaration signaled the beginning of a new life.

On Sunday, churchgoers will celebrate Juneteenth during their worship services. Members of the clergy reflect on the role of the church and the holiday ...

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For organizer Mae Hazleton, this wasn't the first celebration of its kind, but it felt like it. "Juneteenth was made a federal holiday in 2021, but this, for me ...

"Juneteenth is about freedom, and there are still freedoms that the African-American community doesn't enjoy — being healthy, wealthy and wise," said Hazleton. "We want you to learn about the community and what we are offering, but we also want you to enjoy the food. It's a community effort to get these kids where they need to be," Rivera said. People crowded a booth to register to vote then hugged each other before sitting down to eat together as a new community. "I have a variety of resources, everything from nutrition and exercising to preventing chronic diseases. "Juneteenth was made a federal holiday in 2021, but this, for me, is the inaugural event. It was co-sponsored by All About the Ballots, GoMountDora, Community Development Corporation of Mount Dora, Black Voters Matter, Black Women’s Roundtable and Peachy Enterprises.

With live performances, vendors, food and dance, community members gathered in celebration for Juneteenth in downtown Boise.

The Patriot Front members were arrested on June 11 for conspiracy to riot after a 911 caller alerted the police to a group of men crowding inside in a U-Haul truck. It is where I love and where I want to be,” Owens said. “If you pull out your camera, and in every one of your group photos everybody looks only like you, then you’ve probably got some work to do. “Juneteenth is a space of so much Black joy for people across the diaspora. Last year, the state and federal government signed a law designating June 19 — known as Juneteenth — as an official holiday. Holiday celebrations took place across the state with events happening in Twin Falls and Lapwai. Students at Brigham Young University-Idaho in Rexburg will also celebrate the date on Monday.

The new federal holiday marks the day residents of Galveston received General Order No. 3, which freed slaves in Texas.

This year, you can spend Juneteenth learning about Black history, going to an event, or spending time with your loved ones at your own home. Learning more about the holiday as well as Black culture and history is a perfect way to observe it To start, you can read some books about Juneteenth or Black history. If you do decide to plan a cookout, make sure you incorporate red food or drinks, which represent the sacrifice made by slaves from the past.

Background: Utica held its Juneteenth Celebration a day early at Chancellor Park on Saturday, June 18th, 2022. Juneteenth is the anniversary of June 19, ...

The monster is cast adrift and one day rescues a little girl from drowning. Yet, from his very first eye-opening inception, the monster is abandoned and ostracized by his own creator. I will never forget looking at my eyes in the rear view mirror and wondering then what it must be like for people who have to look over their shoulder every time they walk up the street or enter a store. I screamed at the man and told him he was barking up the wrong tree. The mere thought of this made me irate in a way I had never felt before. “I will avenge my injuries. Maybe we were looking for the same gift, I thought. Juneteenth is the anniversary of June 19, 1865, when the news slavery was outlawed finally reached Galveston, Texas. Utica’s longstanding annual celebration goes back to when African American Heritage Day was celebrated in August in the park. As in —- these are the types of conversations that can enlighten the minds and hearts on both sides. As in —- understanding how different life is in America for the oppressors and the oppressed. The profound irony with regard to the monster is that he is in inherently good and wants desperately to be embraced and loved. Freedom for all people in America may only be achieved when the oppressors learn to feel empathy for the oppressed —- and when the oppressed learn to feel a sense of forgiveness for the oppressors.

A national celebration of the end of slavery that has its Oregon roots in a shipyard in the 1940s will be a state holiday this year.

I think it’s an exciting place to be because it is about truth, and it is about claiming how we became a nation economically built on the backs of those who were enslaved.” Now that Juneteenth is a state and federal holiday, Gordly said work must continue for Americans to understand why the day is celebrated. When Oregon became a state in 1859, the Constitution explicitly forbade Black or mixed-race people from living in the state, owning property or making contracts. “And here we are with it being a federal and a state holiday, but she put in all the footwork.” To honor the spirit of Juneteenth, public schools need to teach about Black history, including but not limited to slavery, Gordly said. But she didn’t learn about it in school, where she recalls learning about the Emancipation Proclamation and sometimes seeing a sentence about the holiday. Gordly thinks about the day in the context of Oregon’s history. “We want to embrace the fact that it’s an American celebration,” she said. It wasn’t until June 19, 1865, when word of the Emancipation Proclamation reached Texas, that all Americans were truly free. Peoples, who brought Juneteenth to Oregon from her home state of Oklahoma, died in 2015. Celebrations began in Texas the following year and migrated out. A sign at Linn-Benton Community College in Albany directs attendees to a Juneteenth event on Saturday, June 18.

When Juneteenth became a federal holiday last year, South Carolina organizer Jamal Bradley was excited for it to finally get the recognition it deserves.

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As activists gathered in a park just a short walk from the U.S. Supreme Court, Loretta Ross remembered the days before the Roe v. Wade decision.

"Y'all are the wombs that are at risk; y'all are the bodies that they're trying to eliminate," Ross said. "Many folks are living in communities where they don't have access to housing, gainful employment, safe environmental conditions," she said. "In 2015, I had a life-threatening pregnancy," she said. "Yes, they may be struggling," Davis said. She spoke at a rally on Saturday, planned around the Juneteenth holiday weekend, organized by a coalition of mostly Black-women-led groups. "Fifty two years ago when I was a first-year student at Howard University, I had an abortion," Ross told the crowd, gathered on an unseasonably cool June afternoon.

Author and journalist Mark Whitaker visits Texas, where his great-grandfather became a free man in 1865, and meets with relatives for whom Juneteenth ...

"You'd get to eat," laughed Bernice. "And then we would eat and go back to the field!" That's truly an Independence Day. It's not only for just Black people, but it's for America." My great-grandfather stayed close to the land, but he was able to get some education. And John is the president and CEO of the Cen-Tex African American Chamber of Commerce, which boosts Black businesses. Because he was blind and he couldn't see us." He became a fine statistician and historian. They waited, and for years." "They remained sharecropping," Angela said. John said, "You had slaves that were freed, but really had nowhere to go. The tombstones are in a tiny, well-kept, all-Black cemetery, down a dirt road just outside the town of Jewett, about halfway between Houston and Dallas. "He was blind. It was 157 years ago today, on June 19, 1865, when Union Gen. Gordon Granger went from the piers to downtown Galveston reading General Order Number 3, which said that "all slaves are free.

As we celebrate Juneteenth nationally, let's aim for more than simple equality. We need to also have economic parity.

In an era where debt is a new form of slavery, Jolly seems to have to key to our shackles. Working together toward wealth outcomes you believe you can have a bloc, a tax base, contributing to the broader society while it is also building wealth for you. Unifying behind an inclusive plan is how we can remember Juneteenth as a time in our shared history when the delayed notice of freedom had to end. I want to co-create closed-loop economic circles whose pursuit of parity builds infrastructure that is culturally relevant to the residents living there. “Working together toward wealth outcomes you believe you can have a bloc, a tax base, contributing to the broader society while it is also building wealth for you. The Levites did, however, receive 10% from each tribe they used to create cities of refuge. We have inherited the spirit and intention of the generations who rebuilt Tulsa and other cities across this country. “Parity enables us to set a definitive marker,” she said. Her firm’s name, Torch Enterprises, references passing the torch of wealth from one generation to another. The financial parity challenge involves advancing strategies that narrow the racial wealth gap and measure our progress. “I really want us to recognize that we have inherited this unique time in history to work on our individual and collective progress to make this happen,” she said. A dear friend, Dr. Pamela Jolly, the CEO of Torch Enterprises, has supported this kind of metric for years.

The commemoration included events across the Des Moines metro, drawing thousands of attendees to celebrate and recognize the place of Juneteenth plays.

"Today we're putting on Pride and Soul, which to me is an intersection of my identity. It solidifies the start of the American Dream for Black people," said Perry Thompson, a comedian who performed at the event. Wells served as a facilitator helping community members add their addition to the mural. I'm bringing my kids now," said Iowan Johnneisha Long while attending a Juneteenth event in Des Moines. "To me it's something important to celebrate and to know our history and where we came from." We will lose the diversity — the meaning of it." "It feels like I finally gone big time as an artist. "When did I first hear about Juneteenth? About 15 years ago... the city of Cedar Rapids was going to hold a Juneteenth Celebration and I was like 'Well okay, this is a thing that I knew about but I didn't know that anybody celebrated,'" said Kevin Burt, a American blues-rock musician based in Iowa. Musicians and comedians performed and there was a debut of a documentary from Iowa PBS called "Juneteenth: The Movement." "I would say it's something that should never be forgotten for not only the African American community, but all of our communities and a part of our history that should be talked about," McDonald said. "In my opinion, Juneteenth is all about freedom and reclamation of bodily and emotional autonomy," said Jalesha Johnson, an organizer from Des Moines Black Liberation Movement, while attending the “Pride & Soul” event in Des Moines. Iowans were celebrating Juneteenth across the state in the days leading up to the federal holiday — taking stock of the importance of Black history and freedom.

A year after Juneteenth became a federal holiday, Americans across the country gathered this weekend at events filled with music, food and fireworks.

“As each of us grows, we have to grow in the consciousness that we suffered a lot longer than they’re telling us we did,” Whaley said. Mumphrey reported from Phoenix and is a member of The Associated Press’ Race and Ethnicity team. “We have to fight twice as hard to have the same freedoms that our ancestors fought for hundreds of years ago,” she said. Associated Press writer Kimberlee Kruesi in Nashville, Tennessee, and Aaron Morrison in New York City, contributed to this report. In Fort Worth, celebrations included the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo, named for the Black cowboy who is credited with introducing bulldogging, or steer wrestling. Celebrations in Texas included one at a Houston park created 150 years ago by a group of formerly enslaved men who bought the land. On Sunday, long lines formed from nearly every food stall, while a DJ played soulful house music for festively dressed attendees. In New York City, Juneteenth was celebrated across its five boroughs, with events drawing crowds that exceeded organizers’ expectations. And that is what this great nation must continue to do.” Yet many states have been slow to designate it as an official holiday. Many Black people celebrated the day just as they did before any formal recognition. As more people learn about Juneteenth, “we want to harness that and use this moment as a tool to educate people about history and not just African American history but American history,” said Ramon Manning, chairman of the board for the Emancipation Park Conservancy.

On Sunday, churchgoers will celebrate Juneteenth during their worship services. Members of the clergy reflect on the role of the church and the holiday ...

"Our faith requires us to be active in restoring and repairing the wrongs that stem from America's original sin of slavery." In Galveston, Texas — the birthplace of Juneteenth — congregants at Reedy Chapel A.M.E. Church will begin their service at 11 a.m. and end the day with a freedom march. We call that End Slavery for Good, ensuring that no one be subject to slavery, even as punishment for a crime," says the Rev. Canon Anna E. Rossi. Fields says that "they were believing God to liberate them" – not Abraham Lincoln nor their slave masters. Juneteenth is also called Jubilee Day, Emancipation Day and Freedom Day. It's the most recent new federal holiday, since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was introduced in 1983. Generations later, this hymn is still sung to remember how it felt to be a slave and to continue to seek equality and justice.

Celebrations of freedom took over Middle Tennessee streets this weekend in honor of Juneteenth.

However, it was also built on the land of a plantation once owned by the slave-owning Hadley family. This year marks the second annual federal observance of the holiday. Purchased by Nashville officials in 1912, Hadley Park was the first park bought by Metro Nashville intended for people of color and is considered to be the first public park for African Americans, according to the state's history marker.

One year after President Biden made Juneteenth a federal holiday, more than 30 states have not authorized the funding that would allow for state employees ...

Now, 24 states, and the District of Columbia, have made it a paid holiday. “I just think it’s putting the cart before the horse to make a holiday people don’t know about,” Senator Hensley said during the hearing. President Ronald Reagan signed Dr. King’s birthday into federal law in 1983, but by 1990, Montana, New Hampshire and Arizona still had not made the day a legal holiday. Such actions show state employees, he added, that “‘this is a sacrifice on our part.’” The N.F.L. also stripped the Phoenix area of its rights to host the 1993 Super Bowl. Mr. Biden signed the holiday into federal law on June 17, 2021. Some have said that not enough people know about the holiday to make the effort worthwhile. The legislation was approved 148 to 1 in the state’s House of Representatives and 35 to 1 in the Senate. Since the effective date of the measure is Oct. 1, 2022, the first Juneteenth to be legally recognized as a state holiday will be in 2023. Though all 50 states have recognized Juneteenth by enacting some kind of proclamation celebrating it, its full adoption as an American holiday has yet to take root. Texas became the first state in the country to make Juneteenth a paid day off in 1980. Only two knew what it was, he said. In 1990, Arizonans voted against a measure that would have made the day a paid holiday, leading Stevie Wonder, the Doobie Brothers and Public Enemy to boycott the state in protest.

Amid a rise in conservative efforts opposed to teaching the lingering impacts of slavery and racism, the descendants of formerly enslaved people are using ...

About who is going to protect us and our feelings from that painful past and history. And that is our story as individuals in Texas. So as we walk around trying to protect the feelings of others, nobody's asking us about how we feel. For others, it’s a reminder of what’s possible in the face of cruelty and opposition. “We have to have the space to think about that. He said the historical committee, which he’s a part of, was also able to push back on false narratives about slavery’s role in Texas. “If they don't want to hear our story, we still have to tell our story,” Patrick, wearing a circular St. John Colony Juneteenth pin on her shirt, said. “The black community has worked really hard at expanding the knowledge about our role in history, against the tide,” Ronald Johnson, a history professor at Baylor University in Waco, told the Tribune. “I understand the hesitancy of some people to not want to talk about slavery, not wanting to talk about Jim Crow, not wanting to talk about the rolling back of civil rights. And to look at the documents, you know, and interpret those documents. “They knew how to buy land, form it and take care of their families, you know, so that's what we try and instill in these young people.” The community gathers annually to celebrate Juneteenth, which descendants of the first families in St. John Colony say has always been about family. Amid the racial reckoning that followed the protests of George Floyd’s murder by a Minneapolis police officer, the Texas Legislature passed legislation to limit how race is taught in classrooms. “I memorized it as a kid but, in getting ready for this … it meant a whole lot more to me,” Miller, wearing a white t-shirt with an image of her family tree, told the Tribune. She said she hoped her granddaughter, who was in the audience, would remember the holiday as fondly as she does.

As Americans gather to honor the independence of Black people this Juneteenth, see what 'Black Joy' looks like at celebrations across the nation.

Some of the largest celebrations in the U.S. not only touch on the history of slavery in America, but celebrate Black culture, businesses and food. "Joy is crucial for social change; Joy is crucial for teaching. A revolutionary spirit that embraces joy, self-care, and love is moving towards wholeness.

Juneteenth is a holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. It is also called Emancipation Day or Juneteenth Independence Day. The na...

As an African American Sergeant Major in the Army, it shows how our military has and continues to adapt and overcome the plagues of our nation's history. It is a time to reflect on its history and the growth of our nation. Juneteenth is important to our ranks because it shows that we will all be treated with dignity and respect regardless of our race or background." As an African American Sergeant Major in the Army, it shows how our military has and continues to adapt and overcome the plagues of the nation's history. It is a time to reflect on its history and the growth of the nation. The Emancipation Proclamation officially freed all enslaved people in the rebelling Southern states in 1863; however, some areas without the presence of the Union Army didn't enforce it.

One year ago, I had the great honor of signing legislation to establish Juneteenth as a national holiday—the first new federal holiday since Dr. Martin.

That is why Vice President Harris and I have appointed leadership in the federal government that looks like America. Our Administration is taking a whole-of-government approach to advance equity and racial justice and address the lasting impacts of systemic racism on Black communities. To honor the true meaning of Juneteenth, we must not rest until we deliver the promise of America for all Americans. Juneteenth marks both the long, hard night of slavery and subjugation and a promise of a brighter morning to come.

Columbia celebrated its sixth annual Juneteenth gathering at Riverwalk Park on Saturday, which became an official city holiday in 2020.

And to see the youth come out is the most touching," Massey said. "It's a beauty to see the diversity this year, that it's different and makes me feel like it's not just an African-American or black holiday. Now, it has become a very well-attended event that brings dozens of business owners, local chefs and artists to the park.

Union Gen. Gordon Granger set up his headquarters in Galveston, Texas, and famously signed an order June 19, 1865, "All slaves are free.

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African Americans throughout the nation celebrate Juneteenth, but who knows what actually happened on June 19, 1865? As the nation observes the second ...

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The federal government's embrace of Juneteenth is an occasion for both celebration and concern. Activists invested in the freedom of Black Americans rightly fear that the holiday will become commercialized and stripped of its radical, somber meaning.

Juneteenth would be a great opportunity to link up, or in some cases resurrect, the celebrations of Black freedom held in communities across the United States. Emancipation Day celebrations on January 1 were common in Black communities at the turn of the 20th century. Much of the heavy lifting to save Juneteenth from being another commercialized holiday has to be done by “everyday people.” This brings us to a final reflection on the potential power of Juneteenth. It should never be forgotten that the holiday itself originated in Texas and is at its heart a local story of emancipation. Considering the echoes of “redemption” by white Southerners to destroy Reconstruction via political violence in the South being felt in the January 6 “riot” at the Capitol building, this lesson is still sorely needed. The Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday in the mainstream press is too often only about his “I Have a Dream” speech, and ignores his radical critiques the triple evils of militarism, greed, and racism. Juneteenth offers the only opportunity on the federal election calendar to celebrate the genuine heroism of the Black men and women who went from toiling in fields to, at long last, being given a chance to learn how to read and write. For one, it is important to steer clear of what can be called the “MLK Day trap.” In other words, avoid making Juneteenth about one sliver of Black history, and instead make sure it captures the totality of the Black experiences of freedom in the summer of 1865. But less than a year later, Johnson reversed the order and returned the land to the plantation owners. Likewise, Juneteenth coverage focusing only on the moment the formerly enslaved in Texas learn of their freedom fails to miss how that day represents a broader history of the dream of emancipation—and the reality of broken promises. The general had asked Black Americans in Savannah, Ga., what could be done for them after their liberation by Union troops. The federal government’s embrace of Juneteenth is an occasion for both celebration and concern. Activists invested in the freedom of Black Americans rightly fear that the holiday will become commercialized and stripped of its radical, somber meaning.

Crass commercialization of a holiday is as American as a Labor Day sale, and so it is up to us to keep the true spirit of Juneteenth alive.

Juneteenth would be a great opportunity to link up, or in some cases resurrect, the celebrations of Black freedom held in communities across the United States. Emancipation Day celebrations on January 1 were common in Black communities at the turn of the 20th century. Much of the heavy lifting to save Juneteenth from being another commercialized holiday has to be done by “everyday people.” This brings us to a final reflection on the potential power of Juneteenth. It should never be forgotten that the holiday itself originated in Texas and is at its heart a local story of emancipation. Considering the echoes of “redemption” by white Southerners to destroy Reconstruction via political violence in the South being felt in the January 6 “riot” at the Capitol building, this lesson is still sorely needed. The Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday in the mainstream press is too often only about his “I Have a Dream” speech, and ignores his radical critiques the triple evils of militarism, greed, and racism. Juneteenth offers the only opportunity on the federal election calendar to celebrate the genuine heroism of the Black men and women who went from toiling in fields to, at long last, being given a chance to learn how to read and write. For one, it is important to steer clear of what can be called the “MLK Day trap.” In other words, avoid making Juneteenth about one sliver of Black history, and instead make sure it captures the totality of the Black experiences of freedom in the summer of 1865. But less than a year later, Johnson reversed the order and returned the land to the plantation owners. Likewise, Juneteenth coverage focusing only on the moment the formerly enslaved in Texas learn of their freedom fails to miss how that day represents a broader history of the dream of emancipation—and the reality of broken promises. The general had asked Black Americans in Savannah, Ga., what could be done for them after their liberation by Union troops. The federal government’s embrace of Juneteenth is an occasion for both celebration and concern. Activists invested in the freedom of Black Americans rightly fear that the holiday will become commercialized and stripped of its radical, somber meaning.

U.S. stock markets, banks and USPS are closed Monday for Juneteenth in 2022. Flashback: Because Juneteenth became a federal holiday just days ahead of the ...

Now we all have the ability to pursue the Founding Fathers' vision." Why it matters: Because Juneteenth is not recognized as a holiday in a majority of states, many state employees across the country are not allowed to take a paid vacation day to observe the holiday, which celebrates the end of slavery in the U.S. "We celebrate that day for American independence. - Flashback: Because Juneteenth became a federal holiday just days ahead of the holiday in 2021, there wasn’t time for many businesses, including the U.S. Postal Service and stock markets, to mark the day last year. - "Think about July 4th," Austion said. - This year, about 30% of private employers are offering Juneteenth as a paid holiday compared to 8% in 2020, according to survey data from the Wisconsin-basedInternational Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans.

As an employee of a bank, Camille Parham gets just about every federal holiday off, including the nation's newly minted Juneteenth holiday.

The stage, which allowed different artists to get on the mic to showcase their talents, was back this year but not as part of official Juneteenth activities. Milwaukee has been celebrating Juneteenth for nearly 50 years, but people still don’t know about it and why Blacks commemorate that day, she said. He said the day marks Black people’s resiliency, and acknowledges their battle to end slavery “I think it is a very short trot,” he said. He has given his staff the day off and has cancelled meetings with students. Corporate America and private companies decide which of the 12 federal holidays (if you count Inauguration Day) employees get as paid days off.

A historical context sheds some light. Juneteenth, also known as Jubilee Day, Emancipation Day, Freedom Day, and Black Independence Day was first celebrated by ...

Please see our republishing guidelines for use of photos and graphics. Between 2020 and 2022, five states (Texas, New York, Virginia, Washington, and Illinois) made it a paid holiday for state employees. But this time real freedom for all. Texas became the first state to designate Juneteenth as a state holiday. In 2002, eight other states joined Texas and Missouri followed suit in 2003. President Abraham Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation, ending slavery in January of 1863—two and half years earlier.

Also known as Emancipation Day, the name blends “June” and “nineteenth” — the date in 1865 when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced ...

Juneteenth marks the day when America at last began living up to its founding creed. Even as the national unemployment rate sits at a near-historic low of 3.6%, Black joblessness lags at 6.5%. The racial wealth gap — a pronounced failure of social policy — has only increased over the past 40 years. It’s not hard to understand why, though, a century and a half later, Douglass’s words still sting. The African American story from that day forward was one of halting progress — from the 15th Amendment, to Brown v. There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of the United States, at this very hour. In effect, it asks Americans to reconcile their national aspirations with the reality of persistent inequalities.

Celebrate Juneteenth ethically and intentionally. To borrow a motto from Martin Luther King Jr. Day, make it a day on instead of a day off.

“That is something to mourn … We get together and celebrate, that’s how we approach a lot of the brutality that we have experienced; in community, cooking together, eating together, playing music, dancing, doing all of these things that bring us joy and community. “We don’t need people to feel bad for us, we just need resources,” Brown said. How can we avoid Juneteenth becoming just another commercialized holiday, divorced from its history and purpose and disproportionately benefiting those who already benefit the other 364 days a year? They wrote: “While celebrating, it is important to acknowledge the generational economic wealth gap that still exists today. But now that so many in the wider public are discovering Juneteenth for the first time and those with paid holidays are getting a paid day off, how can those who have not been directly harmed by the legacy of slavery honor the meaning of the day, celebrate it with respect and continue to push for racial justice? Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, were finally told of the Emancipation Proclamation — over two years after it was issued.

Union Gen. Gordon Granger set up his headquarters in Galveston, Texas, and famously signed an order June 19, 1865, "All slaves are free.

"We want the Juneteenth museum to help eliminate the scourge of modern slavery and human trafficking," Jackson says during a tour of the building. "Our city puts out a very positive image, but there is a dark side to Galveston," says Eugene Lewis, retired Galveston police commander and early Juneteenth booster. He built his own house and the houses of other emancipated people in town. "It was the men with the guns. Until recently, the structure was headquarters for a Texas homebuilder until earlier this year when June 19 Museum Inc., based in Washington D.C., acquired it. "Consistent with the American culture it's already being commercialized," she says. What was so unique about the Juneteenth Order that it is now a federal holiday? It was a church affair." Black people could go to the beaches there but we could not celebrate anyplace else." "It was not a piece of paper that freed enslaved people of Texas," he says. It was a family affair. With the new Juneteenth federal holiday, signed into law last year by President Biden, the city hopes it will also become a must-visit site of essential American history.

NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman, editor of the Black Agenda, about celebrating Juneteenth without misappropriating the holiday.

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Celebrities used their platforms over the Juneteenth weekend to celebrate, reflect and educate on June 19, which became a federal holiday last year.

"African Americans and also communities beyond that have been celebrating Juneteenth for generations without it being federalized ... it wasn't something that we need permission to look at," she told the outlet. It is how we break free," she wrote, adding, "Happy Juneteenth everyone." A time of rememberance of those who built this country and space for black Americans to honor our ancestors," she shared in a story. A day to celebrate the autonomy of our does and freedom from slavery. This is our 3rd year and we’ve raised nearly half a million dollars for black businesses and organizations," she shared on Instagram Sunday, directing followers to lizzolovesyou.com for more information on getting involved. "Juneteenth is about giving black citizens of this country our own Declaration of Independence. It is about the complicated and nuanced history we have with this country.

Black Americans living overseas have embraced Juneteenth as a day of reflection and an opportunity to educate people in their host countries on Black ...

Michael Williams teaches African American history at Temple University in Tokyo and left the U.S. when he was 22. “But as a Black person within the Black community I’m like, ‘Yeah, let’s celebrate us.’” They don’t feel like they’re on solid ground in terms of being able to retire comfortably or pay off student debt or just cover their bills.” “A lot of people tend to enjoy hip-hop culture and the attire and certain parts of our culture, but I feel like it’s important to acknowledge all parts of Black culture,” she said. “As a kid, I remember the street being lined with street vendors, and there’s music going on and there’d be the Juneteenth parade rolling through,” he said. Windham has lived in Taiwan for five years, and had always celebrated Juneteenth growing up in Texas. For her, it’s an opportunity to educate people about a different part of American culture, even the darker parts. Payne, an organizer, has lived in Taiwan for 11 years and said he also celebrated Juneteenth growing up in Milwaukee, which has one of the oldest celebrations nationwide. He’s now 66 and had lived abroad for much of his adult life, but returned to the U.S. for graduate school in Boston and Baltimore. Wright plans to move in 2023 to Portugal. Through her podcast, she already knows of Juneteenth celebrations this weekend in Lisbon, the capital. “The commerciality of Juneteenth has become this like whole, ‘Put it on a T-shirt, put it on ice cream tubs’ type of thing,” she said. She moved to South Korea in 2019 and will celebrate Juneteenth on Sunday with a group of drag performers at a fundraising brunch for the Marsha P. Johnson Institute. While there are no official statistics tracking Black Americans moving abroad, many are discussing it more openly after the police killing of George Floyd. In the aftermath, many African Americans saw the U.S. “from the outside in” and made up their minds not to return.

The troops told some of the last enslaved Americans that they were free. They were enforcing the Emancipation Proclamation, in which President Abraham Lincoln ...

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Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a proclamation on the celebration of Juneteenth in Iowa Monday, in its second year recognized as national holiday.

Ankeny hosted its second Juneteenth Festival this year on Saturday. Des Moines public libraries held several events with Iowa Juneteenth organizers on the history and celebration of the event. Iowa has celebrated Juneteenth for more than two decades longer than the nation at large. “I’m deeply grateful that it’s working so tirelessly to ensure Juneteenth has the prominent place in our collective memory that it deserves,” Reynolds said.

Today is the Juneteenth holiday—an observance of freedom and memory marking the emancipation by the Union Army of the last enslaved Black Americans in Texas in ...

While many Americans have observed it in the past, its emergence on the federal calendar should remind us that the legacies of bondage and slavery are not new to us—in our country, or at Middlebury. Juneteenth is a day Black people across the country come together to celebrate community. Wherever you are this summer season, please take some time today, and this week, to reflect on our histories, the forms of systemic racism that have shaped and continue to shape us, and the ways we can undo the legacies of oppression in the lives of Black Americans. Together we can imagine and continue to build more just communities in all the places where we live, work, and study.

The official federal holiday was on Sunday, marking the 157th anniversary of when the last slaves were finally set free in Texas.