When Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862, to free slaves in the Confederate states, slavery was ended… or was it? Some enslaved people were released from their bonds, able to embark on a life of freedom, but many in the South remained enslaved as the Civil War raged on for nearly three more years.
It would take more bloodshed, sacrifice, and passage and ratification of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution in 1865 to settle the issue. It wasn’t until June 19, 1865, however, that the last of the enslaved people finally learned of their Emancipation.
Think about that for a moment. Imagine slave holders hearing that their way of life was ending and thinking, “Not if I can help it!” They kept the news of Emancipation from reaching their plantations, remained faithful to the Confederacy, and refused to release their slaves. This heartless decision ensured that they could maintain the status quo, profiting from the uncompensated labor of enslaved people.
June 19th – “Juneteenth” – celebrates the moment when federal troops reached Galveston, Texas to free the last remaining enslaved people with these historic words: “The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.”
Justice delayed is justice denied, and for those kept in the dark about their Emancipation, the years stolen from them could never be replaced. While they would have been justified in reacting with bitterness, for most, the prospect of freedom evoked a joy that has permeated Juneteenth celebrations ever since across America.
As of this week, Juneteenth is now enshrined as a federal holiday acknowledging its importance in our quest to live up to our vision of being “the land of the free” for everyone.
As a child I didn’t realize why Southport started smelling like sweet barbecue grills in mid to late June. I assumed it was just pre-independence day tourists beginning their vacations. It wasn’t until I was 36 years old that I came to understand that there was a freedom holiday before the one I knew, that had nothing and everything to do with me. I was reverently heartbroken to realize that African Americans and those descended from slaves celebrated their freedom somewhat separately from Uncle Sam. I never remember them not showing up for The 4th of July, so they celebrated that one too but with strife, I came to see. Juneteenth was the gatherings I was smelling, not tourists. How plainly obvious it was when I learned, and I for one am not going to waste another year not joining my American Brothers and Sisters in the freedom holiday they so love and honor. How dare I not. How dare I not join them and call my self an American. #pouroutthemeltingpot
Thank you for sharing this evocative recollection, Hannah.