ABFE's Program Coordinator, Racial Equity Grantmaking Program
Growing up, I did not know much about Juneteenth beyond surface level details. I first encountered the holiday in the summer of 2015 in Boston, MA. Looking back, I ironically learned more about my identity as an Afro-Caribbean man there than where I grew up - surely due to necessity, trial, and circumstance. I vividly remember beautiful Black folk dancing, music blasting, and eating more than my weight in grilled food. My ignorance to just how important the holiday is, can be reflected in a quote from an essay written by historian Elizabeth Hayes Turner: “The way it was explained to me… the 19th of June wasn’t the exact day the Negro was freed. But that’s the day they told them that they were free… and my daddy told me that they whooped and hollered and bored holes in trees with augers and stopped it up with [gun] powder… that would be their blast for the celebration.” The day holds huge importance for the Black community, and is one of the most important holidays in American history.
How Juneteenth Came to Be
Juneteenth is the most popular annual celebration of emancipation from slavery in the United States. The holiday name derives from June 19, 1865, the date that Major General Gordon Granger issued a general order informing the residents of Galveston, TX that in accordance with President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, all slaves were free and the war was finished. However, he was a bit late. At this time, the Emancipation Proclamation that was supposed to end slavery was already in effect for two and a half years, and 200,000 Black men were enlisted in the fight. By the time he commanded the Department of Texas, the Confederate capital in Richmond had fallen; President Lincoln was dead; and the 13th Amendment was in the process of being ratified.
This news did not just affect a few folks. When New Orleans was captured by Union forces in 1862, slave owners in Mississippi, Louisiana, and other eastern points migrated to Texas to escape the Union Army. More than 150,000 slaves made the migration west, totaling the amount of slaves in Texas to approximately 250,000. In historian Leon Litwack’s book, Been in the Storm So Long: The Aftermath of Slavery former slave Susan Merritt mentioned that many newly freed slaves were shot and hung, still expected to be at their former master’s beck and call. She recounted that one former slave continued working for her mistress for another six years, and was treated just as she was before - inhumanely. Freedom was only a word. Despite the odds, the newly “free” Black men and women of Texas rallied around the date. With the help from the Freedmen’s Bureau, they enforced the day and coined the annual rite, Juneteenth, a year later in 1866.
How Juneteenth was Celebrated
Juneteenth was used as a way to honor lost family members, celebrate freedom, and feel empowered. For once, Black folk could indulge in a holiday that centered around their humanity and spiritual upliftment. In the past, this was done through: reading the Emancipation Proclamation, participating in religious sermons and spirituals, and centering slave food delicacies (such as grilled meats). New games and traditions, such as baseball and rodeos, took place over time as well. When White people didn’t allow Black people from using their own spaces to celebrate, Black people gathered near rivers and lakes. Throughout the years, they raised enough money to buy their own celebration sites. Among them are Emancipation Park in Houston, TX, and Booker T. Washington Park in Mexia, TX. The holiday spread as folks from Texas took the holiday and celebrations with them as they crossed state lines. Throughout time, the strength of the celebration saw its ebbs and flows. In the same spirit of honoring civil rights, Juneteenth’s modern day survival can be attributed to the Poor People’s Campaign, which was ended by honoring Juneteenth. Two of the largest Juneteenth celebrations, founded after the Poor People's Campaign, are now held in Milwaukee and Minneapolis. Texas was the first state to declare Juneteenth a holiday in 1980. Since then, 45 other states and the District of Columbia have moved to officially recognize the day.
Modern Day Juneteenth
For the past few weeks, America has yet again been faced with the effects of its racial history. Understand that this is not a moment, or an overreaction. This moment is not just about the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Tony McDade, Riah Milton, Dominique Fells (RIP). This is about Black women, Black men, Black girls, Black boys, Black babies and Black trans folk dying everyday - at a rate too fast to name and create every hashtag. Since they can no longer do so for themselves, embrace truth. Although we can’t physically celebrate due to the effects of COVID-19, the holiday is still worth celebrating. This Juneteenth, take time to honor and channel our ancestors, by doing it yourself! Feel free to:
- Support the myriad of organizations such as the Black Visions Collective or Reclaim the Block who are working to uplift communities and end police brutality.
- Prioritize mental health. For philanthropic models, check out organizations such as the Loveland Foundation, or Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation, which have both committed to helping provide various therapy and mental health services to the Black community. For personal use, check out Inclusive Therapists, which helps provide culturally responsive licensed therapists.
- If you are an organization, support your Black staff and appreciate Juneteenth. Many companies have publicly committed to observing Juneteenth. If you are a staff member who’d like to help empower your organization to observe the holiday, there are ways to do that too.
